S&P 500, Dow retreat from record highs as Fed optimism wanes

He lives6 updates

• Friday, September 20, 2024 at 12:07 PM EST

  Trump Media Shares Drop After Lockdown Ends

  Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) fell to new lows on Friday after the company’s six-month ban expired.

  Starting Thursday, former President Donald Trump and other shareholders were allowed to sell their shares in the social media company for the first time since it went public in March.

  Trump, who owns more than half of the company, recently said he would not sell his shares.

  “I have absolutely no intention of selling,” Trump told reporters at a news conference last week. “I love it. I use it as a way to get my point across.”

  The stock has been volatile, often moving in tandem with any development related to the Republican presidential candidate. On Friday, shares fell 5%.

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  Friday, September 20, 2024 at 11:36 AM EST

  Utilities Outperform as Rest of Markets Decline

  The utilities sector (XLU) rose 1.5% while the rest of the sectors were flat or lower during Friday’s market action.

  Technology shares (XLK) fell 0.9% after leading the market higher in the previous session.

  The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) retreated from their record highs on Friday.

  

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  Friday, September 20, 2024 at 11:15 AM EST

  Trump Continues to Attack Fed Over Rate Cut: ‘It Was a Political Move’

  Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schoenberger says in her report:

  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has not backed down from his criticism of the Federal Reserve after it cut interest rates by a half percentage point less than two months before the November election.

  “It’s really a political move,” the former president said Thursday during an interview with Newsmax.

  Read more here.

• 

  Friday, September 20, 2024 at 10:51 AM EST

  Constellation Energy shares hit all-time high after reaching deal to sell nuclear power to Microsoft

  Shares of Constellation Energy (CEG) surged to an all-time high on Friday after the company announced plans to restart a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island (TMI) and sell power to Microsoft (MSFT) for its data centers.

  Wall Street had expected Constellation to sign a deal this year with a major tech player as they seek more power to power their tech infrastructure amid the artificial intelligence boom.

  Constellation purchased the Unit 1 reactor at TMI, located in Pennsylvania, in 1999. The reactor is located next to Unit 2, a reactor that was shut down after a partial meltdown in 1979.

  “3MI Unit 1 is a fully independent facility, and its long-term operation was not affected by the Unit 2 incident,” Constellation said in its announcement on Friday.

  Before the first unit was shut down for economic reasons in 2019, the plant had a generating capacity of 837 megawatts, enough to power more than 800,000 average homes, according to the company.

  Constellation Energy shares rose 15% on Friday. The stock is up more than 100% year to date.

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  Friday, September 20, 2024 at 9:46 AM EST

  Nike shares rise 7% after CEO change

  Nike Inc. (NKE) shares surged Friday after the sneaker giant announced that CEO John Donahoe plans to retire. He will be replaced by Elliot Hill, the company’s former president of consumer and marketplace, effective Oct. 14.

  Wall Street analysts welcomed the return of Hill, who left Nike in 2020. The company’s shares rose more than 7% in early trading.

  As Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DePalma reports, the leadership change comes at a time when Nike’s board — which includes founder Phil Knight, former CEO Mark Parker and Apple CEO Tim Cook — sees fit to focus on improving the product and reestablishing relationships that Donahoe tossed aside, such as the one with Foot Locker (Florida).

  Read more here.

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  Friday, September 20, 2024 at 9:30 AM EST

  Stocks retreat from record highs as Fed rate cut wave fades

  Stocks were slightly lower in early trading Friday, retreating from record highs hit by the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI).

  The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also fell after a massive rally in the previous session following a major interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

  The market’s euphoria faded on Friday after delivery giant FedEx (FDX), a bellwether for the U.S. economy, reported disappointing quarterly results late Thursday.

  FedEx shares fell in early trading.