Dow rises to fresh record as investors cheer more strong economic data, falling rates: Live updates

The Dow Jones Industrial Average kept its rally going Thursday a day after closing above 37,000 for the first time ever as the 10-year Treasury tumbled below 4% and a surprise gain in retail sales gave investors further confidence 2024 would bring a soft economic landing.

The Dow was up 92 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6%.

Wall Street received fresh economic data on Thursday that helped fuel hopes for a soft landing. Retail sales increased 0.3% in November, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, in the latest sign that consumer spending remains strong as the holiday shopping season continues. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast a decrease of 0.1%.

The 10-year Treasury note yield dropped below 4% for the first time since August as traders mounted bets on rate cuts for 2024. The move lower in interest rates follows the Dow’s more than 1% jump on Wednesday to reach a record high above 37,000 after the Federal Open Market Committee indicated it may cut rates three times next year.

“The Fed delivered the dovish pivot that we expected heading into the December meeting,” Michael Gapen, chief U.S. economist at Bank of America, wrote on Wednesday. “While we did not expect the Fed to move to an outright easing bias, we did expect it to move to a more balanced reaction function and, in the event, we think it did just that.”

Solar stocks ticked higher as yields fell. The Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) climbed more than 7%, with constituents SunRun and Enphase gaining 14% and 8.4%, respectively. Shares of Moderna climbed nearly 15% after trial data showed its experimental cancer vaccine reduced the risk of death or reoccurrence when used alongside Merck’s Keytruda.

The S&P could soon join the Dow in record territory, as the index is less than 2% away from reaching its all-time close set in January of 2022. The Nasdaq is about 9% away from its closing record and roughly 10% further to go to reach its intraday record, respectively.