New York stocks start fifth straight day of gains ahead of Fed rate announcement…NVIDIA up about 4%

Fed expected to cut by 0.25%p

Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta to report earnings after market close

With the Federal Reserve Board's rate meeting approaching and a tech rally resuming, New York stocks opened on the 28th (local time) at a record high, marking a fifth straight day of gains. High expectations for the meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 30th also supported optimism.

Around 10:10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, the S&P 500 was up 0.28% at 6,909.84 points. The Nasdaq was up 0.62%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.44%.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose one basis point (1bp=0.01%) to 3.99%, while the 2-year Treasury yield was virtually unchanged at 3.49%.

Spot gold, which had turned downward, rose 1.6% that day to $4,016.03 an ounce.

NVIDIA, which had risen 4.9% the previous day, was trading at $210, up 4.8% at around 9:50 a.m. EST. If it closes above $205.76 per share today, NVIDIA's market capitalization would exceed 5 trillion dollars. That would make NVIDIA the first company in history to surpass a $5 trillion market capitalization.

NVIDIA's stock has risen 11.51% over the past four trading days, marking its best four-day gain since May 15.

After the market closes today, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta Platforms will report earnings. Amazon.com and Apple will report on the 30th.

That day Boeing announced a $4.9 billion loss due to delivery delays of the 777X passenger jet. However, due to delivery delays CVS Health raised its sales targets for the third time this year and its stock rose 1.8%.

The Fed is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% percentage point on the day.

JPMorgan's trading desk, in an interview with CNBC, counted that historically there have been only four instances in which rates were cut while the S&P 500 was at a record high. JPMorgan traders said, "That alone would be enough for the market to fully rally."

Typically, the Fed cuts rates when the economy is on the brink of recession and the stock market has taken a hit. Currently, the U.S. economy shows little sign of recession, but the labor market has recently weakened, and the perceived economic confidence gap between high-income and low-income groups has widened significantly.

Scott Rubner, head of equity and equity derivatives strategy at Citadel Securities, advised clients to buy call options on the Invesco QQQ Trust that expire at the end of November and in December.

Kim Jeong-a, guest reporter kja@hankyung.com