Nasdaq Soars as Nvidia and Amazon Lead Tech Rally – Live Fed Rate Decision Updates

As Wall Street braces for Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House, the focus is on the Federal Reserve's decision today, which is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points. This move aims to maintain market stability and prevent surprises after Trump's victory in the election.

Key Economic Updates:

• Federal Reserve's interest rate decision
• Initial jobless claims data for the week ending November 2

Earnings Reports to Watch:

• Affirm (AFRM), Airbnb (ABNB), Block (SQ), Datadog (DDOG), DraftKings (DKNG), Halliburton (HAL), Hershey (HSY), Moderna (MRNA), Pinterest (PINS), Rivian (RIVN), The Trade Desk (TTD)

Stay with us for real-time market reactions and economic news.

The latest data from the U.S. Department of Labor reveals a rise in weekly initial jobless claims, which reached 221,000, marking an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's adjusted number.

The prior week's figure was revised upward by 2,000, from 216,000 to 218,000.

In addition, the number of continuing claims rose by 39,000, reaching a total of 1.892 million, compared to the previously revised level.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) experienced a significant decline in premarket trading on Thursday, erasing the gains it saw following Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.

Over the past week, the stock has seen volatile movements, largely driven by fluctuations in Trump’s path to re-election. The stock has fallen by approximately 10% over the last five days, though it surged nearly 120% in the past month.

DJT’s stock movements continue to be closely tied to Trump’s political fortunes, particularly the performance of his social media platform, Truth Social.

U.S. stocks continued their upward momentum on Thursday, building on the massive rally sparked by Donald Trump's win in the presidential election. The market's gains come just ahead of the Federal Reserve's expected decision on interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) saw a modest gain of 0.1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.5%, following record highs across all three major indices on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to reduce interest rates by 25 basis points, aiming to maintain market stability after the election results. This move comes as investors brace for the next steps under Trump's leadership.

However, some parts of the so-called "Trump Trade" showed signs of slowing down, as shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) dropped by double digits, reversing the prior day's gains.

Moderna (MRNA) saw a 5% increase in stock price after announcing stronger-than-expected earnings, driven by higher-than-forecasted sales of its COVID-19 vaccine. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) also saw a 10% surge, fueled by significant growth in its streaming service, with Max subscribers increasing at a rapid pace. In contrast, Hershey (HSY) saw its stock fall by over 1%, with a premarket drop of 3%. The drop was mainly due to rising cocoa prices, which hurt the company’s sales outlook for the rest of the year.

Here’s a closer look at the results:

• Hershey: Adjusted earnings of $2.34 per share, missing the expected $2.56. Revenue of $2.99 billion also fell short of the $3.07 billion forecast.
• Moderna: Reported earnings of $0.03 per share, beating the expected loss of $1.98. Revenue of $1.86 billion also exceeded expectations of $1.25 billion.
• Warner Bros. Discovery: Posted adjusted earnings of $0.05 per share, a turnaround from the expected loss of $0.12. Revenue of $9.62 billion was slightly below the expected $9.81 billion.

In the energy sector, stocks were mostly flat after mixed results. Duke Energy (DUK) struggled with lower profits due to hurricane-related expenses, while Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG) missed revenue targets amid power outages in Northern California to prevent fire risks. However, Vistra (VST), a nuclear power company, saw a strong 11% jump in its stock after reporting a positive earnings surprise, recovering from previous losses.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) and Amazon (AMZN) each climbed over 1% on Thursday, continuing the momentum from Wednesday’s surge following Donald Trump’s election win. Both stocks hit all-time highs during Wednesday’s rally.

Nvidia, the leading AI chipmaker, recently surpassed Apple (AAPL) as the world’s most valuable company. The company is set to join the prestigious Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) this Friday, replacing Intel (INTC).

Amazon's stock also maintained its upward trend after the company exceeded quarterly expectations last week. On Thursday, Amazon shares were trading above $210, signaling strong market confidence.