Wall Street Ends Higher on Tech Rebound, Rising Rate Cut Bets

Wall Street stocks climbed Monday, extending Friday’s gains as rising expectations of a December Federal Reserve rate cut overshadowed concerns about elevated tech valuations.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 2.7%, its largest single-day gain since May, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.6%. Computer hardware and networking stocks showed particular strength. Alphabet, Tesla, Broadcom, and Nvidia led gains amid growing rate-cut optimism and positive sentiment around recent AI developments.

Rate-cut expectations jumped following comments from New York Fed President John Williams, who indicated the central bank could lower rates soon to support the labour market.

Markets now price in a 77.2% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed’s December 9-10 meeting, up sharply from 41.8% a week earlier. Fed Governor Christopher Waller also signalled support for a quarter-point cut in December.

The dovish shift drove Treasury yields to multi-week lows and sparked risk-on buying across stocks and Bitcoin.

Bitcoin traded near $88,000 following a weekend rebound from Friday’s $81,000 low, but remains down ~30% from its all-time high. ETF investors have pulled a record $3.5 billion this month.

Gold climbed toward $4,120/oz, supported by lower yields and central bank buying, and is up 58% year-over-year. Copper steadied just under $5/lb amid bets on a Fed cut, but soft China demand continues to weigh on prices.

The Indian rupee clawed back part of Friday’s losses, appreciating by 25 paise to settle at 89.23 against the US dollar. The recovery was aided by likely central bank intervention and MSCI-related flows.

Global uncertainties and persistent FII selling dragged Indian markets lower yesterday.

Immediate support for the Nifty is seen around 25835, where the twenty-day EMA is placed. On the upside, 26150 is likely to act as an immediate resistance.

Today’s monthly derivatives expiry will be the key driver of the trading session. Market focus will be on whether FPIs roll over their short positions or opt to trim them. Our markets are poised to open modestly higher on the back of positive US and Asian cues