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Broadcom ( AVGO ) jumps as it forecasts Q1 revenue above estimates
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Chip stocks post varied performance
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Investors await Fed's Dec. 17-18 meeting
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Indexes: Dow down 0.20%, S&P 500 unchanged, Nasdaq up
0.12%
(Adds market details after close of trading)
By Echo Wang
Dec 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed out the trading
week near the unchanged mark in a subdued session on Friday,
with the S&P 500 and Dow posting weekly declines, while the
Nasdaq secured its fourth consecutive week of gains.
Broadcom ( AVGO ) forecast quarterly revenue surpassing Wall
Street expectations and predicted robust growth in demand for
its custom AI chips over the next few years. The optimistic
outlook propelled the company's shares 24% higher, pushing its
market capitalization past $1 trillion for the first time.
Chip stocks were mixed, with Broadcom ( AVGO ) rival Marvell
Technology ( MRVL ) rising 10.8%, while AI bellwether Nvidia ( NVDA )
closed 2.2% lower. But a gauge of semiconductor stocks
added 3.2%.
Yields on U.S. Treasuries rose across the board, with ones
on the benchmark 10-year bond hitting a three-week
high.
"Right now the interest rate selloff is winning," said Jay
Hatfield, chief executive officer at Infrastructure Capital
Management in New York. "It's pretty natural for value and
income stocks to go down when tech stocks are rising."
Technology stocks continued their upward momentum, driving
the Nasdaq above the 20,000 mark for the first time on
Wednesday. The rally was further bolstered by an in-line
inflation report, which solidified expectations for a 25
basis-point interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in its
meeting next week.
Trader bets on the cut at the central bank's Dec. 17-18
meeting stand at near 97%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
However, they indicate chances of a pause in January.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86.06 points,
or 0.20%, to 43,828.06, the S&P 500 lost 0.16 point, or
0.00%, to 6,051.09 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 23.88
points, or 0.12%, to 19,926.72.
Wall Street had taken a breather in the previous session
after recent gains and some hot economic data ahead of the Fed's
meeting, setting up the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow for weekly
losses. However, the Nasdaq ended the week higher.
U.S. stocks have repeatedly reached all-time highs this
year, driven by surging interest in heavyweight tech companies
capitalizing on artificial-intelligence trends.
Investor sentiment also received a boost following Donald
Trump's presidential election victory, as markets anticipate his
pro-business policies could enhance corporate profitability.
Among other movers, RH jumped 16.95% after the home
furnishings retailer reported higher net revenue for the third
quarter, while D.R. Horton ( DHI ) eased 0.89% as J.P. Morgan
downgraded its rating on the homebuilder to "underweight."
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.23-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. There were 100 new highs and 141 new lows on the
NYSE.
The S&P 500 posted 8 new 52-week highs and 15 new lows while
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 75 new highs and 199 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.56 billion shares, compared
with the 14.03 billion average for the full session over the
last 20 trading days.