Wall Street today: Dow Jones hits record high on Fed rate cut hopes, UnitedHealth jumps
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 248.7 points, or 0.55%, to 45,159.91. The S&P 500 rose 8.8 points, or 0.14%, to 6,477.38, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3 points, or 0.01%, to 21,709.336.
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
US stock market prediction: Will Nasdaq, S&P 500, Dow Jones slip or rise on Monday? Check lucrative stocks
US Stock Market indexes -- Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq -- will look to maintain its positive run at the Wall Street. However, investors will keep close eyes on the Federal Reserve and Fed Chair Jerome Powell to check whether there will be interest rate cut or not. U.S. stocks edged back from their record levels on Friday in a quiet finish to another winning week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3 per cent from the all-time high it set the day before, as it closed its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average flirted with its own record, which was set in December, before ending just below the mark with a rise of 34 points, or 0.1 per cent. The Nasdaq composite dipped 0.4 per cent, though it's still near its record set on Wednesday. The U.S. stock market reached all-time highs this past week as expectations built that the Federal Reserve will deliver a cut to interest rates at its next meeting in September. Lower rates can boost investment prices and the economy by making it cheaper for U.S. households and businesses to borrow to buy houses, cars or equipment, but they also risk worsening inflation. US Stock Market Outlook Companies likely to benefit most from lower borrowing costs have been among the big winners in recent Wall Street trading, said Andrew Slimmon, head of Applied Equity Advisors at Morgan Stanley Asset Management. Shares of leading homebuilders such as PulteGroup, Lennar, and D.R. Horton are up between 4.2 per cent and 8.8 per cent in the last week, as of midday Friday, thanks largely to the recent drop in mortgage lending rates. Live Events Their gains trounced the 1 per cent rally in the Standard & Poor's 500 index over the last week. The group has outpaced the broader market more dramatically over the last month, with gains of 15 per cent to 22 per cent compared to 3.3 per cent for the S&P 500. But their future gains hinge on mortgage rates continuing to fall, something that a recent uptick in 10-year Treasury bond yields puts into question. FAQs Q1. What are US Stock Market indexes? A1. US Stock Market indexes are Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq. Q2. Which stocks have gone up? A2. Shares of leading homebuilders such as PulteGroup, Lennar, and D.R. Horton are up between 4.2 per cent and 8.8 per cent in the last week, as of midday Friday, thanks largely to the recent drop in mortgage lending rates.
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Business Standard
4 hours ago
- Business Standard
S&P raises credit ratings of SBI, HDFC Bank, Tata Capital, 7 other firms
S&P Global on Friday upgraded the ratings of 10 leading Indian financial institutions, including SBI, HDFC Bank, and Tata Capital, news agency PTI reported. The decision came a day after the US-based agency lifted India's sovereign credit rating for the first time in 18 years. The long-term issuer credit ratings have been raised for seven banks — State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Union Bank of India, and Indian Bank. In addition, three finance companies — Bajaj Finance, Tata Capital, and L&T Finance — also received an upgrade. 'India's financial institutions will continue to ride the country's good economic growth momentum. These entities will benefit from their domestic focus and structural improvements in the system such as in the recovery of bad loans," S&P said. India's sovereign rating raised to 'BBB' On Thursday, S&P upgraded India's long-term sovereign credit rating to BBB from BBB-, with a stable outlook. This places India in the same category as Mexico, Indonesia, and Greece. It is India's first sovereign upgrade by S&P in nearly two decades. S&P cited economic resilience, fiscal consolidation, and better quality of public spending as the main reasons for the move. The rating upgrade comes days after US President Donald Trump announced a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods and described the country as a 'dead economy'. Analysts believe the improved rating will strengthen India's case with international investors. 'India's buoyant economic growth, against the backdrop of an enhanced monetary policy environment that anchors inflationary expectations, supported this upgrade,' S&P added. India welcomes decision The Ministry of Finance welcomed the decision, stressing that India has balanced fiscal consolidation with major investments in infrastructure and inclusive growth. 'India will continue its buoyant growth momentum and undertake steps for further reforms to attain the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047,' it said. Following the announcement, India's 10-year bond yield dropped sharply to 6.38 per cent before closing at 6.40 per cent — the biggest single-day fall in two months. The rupee also recovered some losses, ending at 87.56 against the US dollar. S&P further noted that while tariffs from the US could cause a one-time dent to growth, the long-term outlook for India remains strong. Outlook ahead Fitch Ratings and Moody's still keep India at the lowest investment grade with a stable outlook. However, S&P highlighted that India's commitment to fiscal discipline and better spending quality has already strengthened its financial profile. The agency expects India's GDP to grow 6.5 per cent this financial year, supported by consumer demand and government investments. It also projected policy continuity after upcoming state elections, which could aid further reforms and fiscal consolidation.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Hedge funds shift bets to double down on big tech amid AI boom
Wall Street's largest hedge funds, Bridgewater Associates, Tiger Global Management and Discovery Capital, increased their exposure to Big Tech in the second quarter amid a generational boom in the growth of artificial intelligence. During the June quarter, hedge funds cut their exposure to laggards in industries like aerospace and defence, and consumer and retail, as part of a broader move back to momentum investing. It marks a big shift from earlier this year when bets on Big Tech had soured for top money managers due to tariff-fuelled volatility in financial markets, with investor concerns around rising inflation and fears of a bubble in AI triggering a sell-off in "Magnificent Seven" stocks. Since then, tech stocks have staged a big comeback. The S&P 500 is up 10% so far this year, buoyed largely by the largest tech companies, which account for nearly a third of the combined market cap of companies on the index. Outside technology, some hedge funds, such as Lone Pine and Discovery, also bet on UnitedHealth Group. Berkshire Hathaway and Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management also unveiled bets on the insurer, while Soros Fund Management boosted an existing position. Shares in UnitedHealth are down 46% this year, as the company faces rising costs, a U.S. Department of Justice probe, a cyberattack and the shooting of former top executive Brian Thompson last December. The fund's positions were revealed in quarterly securities filings known as 13Fs. While backward-looking, these filings typically reveal what funds owned on the last day of the quarter and are one of the few ways hedge funds and other institutional investors have to declare their positions. Below are the details of the changes in the holdings of the top hedge funds: Bridgewater Associates Bridgewater Associates added more shares in Nvidia, Alphabet and Microsoft in the second quarter. The macro hedge fund founded by Ray Dalio more than doubled its bets in Nvidia. It ended June with 7.23 million shares in the chipmaker, or 154.5% more than it had at the end of March. Nvidia was Bridgewater's biggest bet in a single stock, totalling $1.14 billion. Its holdings in Alphabet and Microsoft went up by 84.1% and 111.9%, respectively, amounting to $987 million and $853 million. Other AI-related stocks added were Broadcom (+102.7%), to 317.8 million shares, or $317 million, and Palo Alto Networks (+117%), to 313.8 million, or $314 million. Discovery Capital Discovery Capital, whose founder Rob Citrone has recently been bullish on Mexico's America Movil due to its exposure to Latin America, doubled its stake in the wireless provider during the second quarter. For the quarter ended June 30, the fund amassed another 2.65 million shares, valuing its current holding in America Movil at about $95 million. Citrone's hedge fund, which generated a 52% windfall on its investments last year, has increased its exposure to Latin America as part of a strategy to diversify from U.S. holdings. During the quarter, Discovery increased its holdings in Big Tech, as it more than doubled its stake in Meta Platforms , the parent company of Facebook, while also betting on booming demand for AI as it took a new position in Nvidia-backed cloud provider CoreWeave. The hedge fund also increased its position in UnitedHealth by 13%. Tiger Global Management Tiger Global Management bought more stocks in some Magnificent Seven companies in the second quarter, including Alphabet, Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta, its 13Fs showed. Chase Coleman's hedge fund added roughly 4 million shares of Amazon and ended June with roughly 10 million shares, worth $2.34 billion. The fund also increased its bets in smaller AI-players. It added over 800,000 shares in chip-making equipment supplier Lam Research Corp, ending June with 5.26 million shares, valued at $512 million. Coatue Management Many changes in Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management portfolio were also around AI-related stocks. It unveiled new positions in both Arm Holdings and Oracle, adding stakes worth roughly $750 million and $843 million, respectively. Both companies have boosted AI-related business initiatives. Coatue also increased its holdings in Nvidia-backed CoreWeave, adding 3.39 million shares in the second quarter, with its stake in the company worth $2.9 billion. Lone Pine Capital Lone Pine Capital took a new position in UnitedHealth Group, buying up 1.69 million shares worth about $528 million during the June quarter.
