June 27, 2025

The market underwent another astounding upside day yesterday after cooling off a bit the day before, as the S&P rose to the edge of another record and the Nasdaq 100 did in fact achieve its best level ever.

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The Dow gained 404 to 42,386 led by gains in BA, CAT, AMZN, GS and JPM as the financials are currently on an uninterrupted upside pattern.

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The S&P advanced by 48 to 6142 led by technology leaders such as MSFT, AMZN, DOOR, PLTR, SMCI and others ended just 0.05% below its all-time closing high, which was set in February. It briefly topped the mark during the afternoon in the latest milestone for the index at the heart of many 401(k) accounts, which had dropped roughly 20% below its record during the spring on worries about the President’s tariffs. It has gained 9.4% since April for the best advance since 1997 and did some damage to the old theory of “sell in May and go away!”

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The Nasdaq rose by 194 to 20,157 led by the tech leaders while the Nasdaq 100 did close at its best ever level with traditional technology leaders charging ahead. The Russell 2000 Index of small stocks did well with a 33 point gain to xxxx on the effects of strong local financial issues.

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And once again, the VIX dropped again to 16.59 as it is trying to break below this support level and could rise again if stocks do manage to sell off in the near future.

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MKC, the seller of cooking spices, helped lead the way and jumped after delivering a better-than-expected profit report. The company also gave a forecast for profit over its full fiscal year that topped analysts’ expectations, including planned efforts to offset increased costs caused by tariffs.

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Over the longer term, it has been big technology stocks that have led the market for years and since the S&P 500 hit a bottom in April.

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NVDA, which has been the poster child of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, added 0.5%. but it did sell off by 1 dollar from its intraday high near the close which prevented the S&P from indeed making its record yesterday. It is the most valuable company in the stock market after pushing 61% higher since April 8th , towering over the S&P’s gain of 23%.

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MU, which sells computer memory and data storage, swung between gains and losses after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its C.E.O. said it is seeing growing AI-driven memory demand, and the company gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. But after a higher start, it turned negative and was also a reason for the S&P not closing at its best level ever as well.

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Worries about Trump’s tariffs have receded since the President shocked the world in April with stiff proposed levies, but they have not disappeared. Investors are waiting to see how big the tariffs will ultimately be and how much they will hurt the economy.

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The economy so far seems to be holding up OK, though slowing, and more reports arrived on Thursday bolstering that. One said that the June preliminary durable orders grew by more last month than economists expected at 16.4% but without airplane orders were only up nominally. Weekly jobless claims fell to 236,000 which could be a potential signal of fewer layoffs.

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The U.S. economy’s final GD.P. report slipped to 0.5%, but many economists say those numbers got distorted by a surge of purchases of foreign products by U.S. companies hoping to get ahead of tariffs. They are expecting a better performance in upcoming months.

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Following the reports, Treasury yields swiveled up and down in the bond market before easing.

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The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.24% from 4.29% late Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, fell to 3.71% from 3.74% late Wednesday.

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Analysts said yields may have felt pressure because of a report from The Wall Street Journal saying Trump could name his nominee to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell unusually early, in an attempt to undermine him. That could hurt confidence among investors about the Fed’s capability to make unpopular decisions when it comes to fighting inflation.

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Powell has been repeating recently that the Federal Reserve is  waiting to see how Trump’s tariffs will affect the economy before deciding when to resume cutting interest rates. It has been on hold this year because lower rates can give inflation more impetus along with providing the economy with a boost.

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Trump, though, has been adamant about wanting cuts to rates sooner and has insulted Powell repeatedly. Two of his appointees to the Fed said that they would consider cutting rates as soon as the Fed’s next meeting in July.

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Earnings this week include the following: yesterday –  MU, JEF lower and MKC higher; today - Dow component NKE higher.

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Economic reports will include: yesterday - weekly jobless claims fell to 236,000, May pending home sales gained 1.8%, final 1Q G.D.P. estimate was lowered to 0.5%, June preliminary durable goods orders rose by 16.4% but without aircraft orders were only higher by 1.7%; today – May P.C.E. Index was 0.1% and year over year up 2.5% while the core rate was 0.2% up and 2.7% higher for year over year, May personal income lower by 0.4% and spending down by 0.1%