US open: Dow hits new high, but Nasdaq falls for second day

(Sharecast News) - US stocks were mostly higher on Wednesday with the Dow surging past the 48,000 mark to hit new highs, though the tech-heavy Nasdaq was in the red for the second straight day. The Dow, which settled at a new record closing price of 47,927.96 on Tuesday, was up another 1.0% at 48,389.90 in morning trade in New York.

However, the S&P 500 was putting in a meagre 0.2% gain early on, while the Nasdaq was fell 0.1%. Both indices have been rangebound over the past two sessions following a temporary jolt higher on Monday, with ongoing concerns about lofty valuations in the heavyweight tech sector weighing on risk appetite.

Nevertheless, stocks have mostly moved higher since the start of the week after the US Senate passed a spending bill to fund the government until the end of January. The package now moves to the GOP-controlled House of Representatives for a final vote on Wednesday, before Donald Trump is expected to sign it into effect.

The opening of the public sector, which could come as early as Friday, is predicted to prompt the release of a barrage of postponed economic data in the next week or so, as concerns start to mount about the impact of the shutdown on the wider economy.

Data from ADP on Tuesday revealed that the private sector shed an average of 11,250 jobs per week in the four weeks to 25 October, while a survey from NFIB showed that small business confidence declined more than expected.

David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation, said the ADP figures "saw the probability of a 25-basis point rate cut next month from the Fed edge higher, although at 63% it's far from a done deal".

However, he added: "Overall, when it comes to US equities, there are plenty of potential tailwinds and few apparent headwinds as far as investors are concerned. [...] Even the prospect of a confusion of official economic data releases once the shutdown ends is largely ignored. If the data is good, then what is there to worry about? And if it's bad, then investors can look forward to easier monetary policy. Party on."

Market movers

Shares in AMD were rising 8% after the chip giant gave a bullish outlook, forecasting a 60% jump in data centre revenues over the next three to five years, driven by what it called "insatiable" AI demand. AMD profits are also expected to triple by 2030.

Sector peers Broadcom and Nvidia also rebounded slightly after falling sharply the previous session.

US-listed shares of On Holding rocketed 24% after the buzzy Swiss running apparel brand reported record quarterly results and hiked its sales guidance for the third time this year.

Meanwhile, SaaS outfit Clearwater Analytics jumped 9% on reports that the company was considering a potential sale.