It was a mixed session for the US markets on Wall Street as the Dow Jones fell for the eighth day running, notching its longest losing streak since 2018. However, big tech shares, barring Nvidia, propelled the Nasdaq to another record high.

The tech-heavy index gained 1.2% on Monday, followed by the S&P 500’s 0.4% advance. The Dow Jones ended 110 points lower.

All the ‘magnificent seven’ stocks barring Nvidia advanced on Monday, with gains also coming from Broadcom. Another 11% advance for the stock after Friday’s 24% surge took the two-day gains to 38%. Broadcom is the latest addition to the trillion-dollar market cap club.

Nvidia, on the other hand, that has led the gains on Wall Street for a better part of 2024, has now slipped into ‘correction territory’, meaning a 10% drop from its recent peak. Yet, the stock is up over 170% for the year. ‘

The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 4.40%. Bitcoin hit a fresh record.

Sentiment in the US is relatively positive, with a widely expected quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday seen as adding fresh support and extending stocks’ outperformance. That stands in contrast to losses in Asia and Europe on Monday after weaker-than-anticipated retail data in China.

In the US, “near-term momentum may depend on what Fed Chair Powell says after the announcement, and whether retail sales or the PCE Price Index catch the market off guard,” said Chris Larkin, manging director, trading and investing, at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.

Historically, most of the stock market’s December gains tend to come in the second half of the month, he said, adding that the S&P 500 had a positive net return in this period 78% of the time since 1957.

Even if we get a “hawkish cut” from the Fed, it would be because the central bank sees underlying strength in the economy, and that means the rally in US stocks could continue to broaden out, Tony DeSpirito, BlackRock’s global chief investment officer of fundamental equities, said on Bloomberg TV.

Bloomberg’s dollar index, meanwhile, fluctuated between modest gains and losses on Monday. After strengthening more than 6% so far this year, Wall Street is starting to sour on the greenback as Trump’s policies and the Fed’s interest-rate cuts are seen to put pressure on the currency in the latter portion of 2025.

(With Inputs From Agencies.)