Stocks stagnate in early trading as market hits record highs; Bitcoin remains stable after crossing 0,000

Stocks stagnate in early trading as market hits record highs; Bitcoin remains stable after crossing $100,000

Stock markets were mixed in early trading on Thursday as the market looks to extend its record-breaking rally, while Bitcoin held steady after rising above $100,000 for the first time.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were almost unchanged in recent trading. Each of the major indexes hit all-time highs on Wednesday, led by big gains in technology stocks, extending a post-election rally fueled by hopes that the new Trump administration will pursue pro-growth policies that will boost corporate earnings and stock market gains increases.

Large-cap technology stocks were mostly higher early Thursday, led by electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA), which rose more than 4%. Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) also rose, while Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT) fell slightly.

Big movers in early trading included shares of Synopsys (SNPS), which fell 10% after the chip design software maker gave disappointing sales guidance. Fiserv (FI) shares fell 5% after the financial technology company’s CEO Frank Bisgnano was named head of the Social Security Administration by President-elect Donald Trump.

Cryptocurrency-related stocks rose on Thursday morning in line with Bitcoin price action. Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), one of the world’s largest holders of the digital currency, rose 3%, while shares of crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) and Bitcoin miner Mara Holdings (MARA) rose 3% and 4%, respectively.

Bitcoin was last trading at $103,300, having risen to nearly $104,000 overnight following news yesterday that Trump had appointed Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. Atkins would succeed Gary Gensler, a crypto industry critic who said last month he would step down in January.

Bitcoin has gained about 45% since the election as investors expect the Trump White House and a crypto-friendly Congress to support policies that benefit the asset class.

The 10-year Treasury yield, which correlates with market expectations about where interest rates will move, fell to 4.20% on Thursday morning from 4.22% yesterday afternoon.

Investors await the scheduled release of the November jobs report on Friday morning as they look for information that could influence the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the central bank could be cautious about cutting interest rates given the continued strength of the economy. The Fed’s final monetary policy meeting of the year is scheduled for December 18th.

Gold futures fell about 0.5% this morning to about $2,660 an ounce, while crude oil futures rose slightly.

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