Pre-Election Market Caution Leads to Flat Week on Wall Street

Both the S&P 500 and Dow broke their six-week winning streaks, with the S&P 500 down nearly 1% and the Dow falling 2.7% for the week.

Investors seeking the latest stock market news can turn to Benzinga for daily reports on the stocks generating the most interest among investors.

Here's a glance at some of Benzinga's top stories of the last week, ranging from Nvidia's new AI model to Dogecoin's potential move and more.

Both the S&P 500 and Dow broke their six-week winning streaks, with the S&P 500 down nearly 1% and the Dow falling 2.7% for the week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq marked its seventh consecutive weekly gain, rising 0.2% and reaching an all-time high, driven by strong performances from megacap tech stocks.

With the presidential election approaching, investor caution has led to a broadly flat week on Wall Street, as concerns over fiscal policies and potential trade disruptions linger.

Rising Treasury yields signaled market expectations of fiscal challenges for the next administration, regardless of the election outcome.

The Bulls

"Nvidia's New Free, Open Source AI Model Reportedly Outperforms OpenAI's GPT-4o, Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet" by Ananya Gairola

The story details how Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) launched Llama-3.1-Nemotron-70B-Instruct, a free open-source AI model that surpassed competitors in key benchmarks, reflecting a strategic shift towards AI software dominance using Meta Platforms Inc.'s (NASDAQ:META) framework.

"Dogecoin Up 28% Over The Past Week And Major Bitcoin Move Could Send It Beyond $0.50, Says Veteran Trader" by Khyathi Dalal

The article highlights bullish predictions from two traders who foresee Dogecoin (DOGE/USD) surging beyond $0.50 if Bitcoin (BTC/USD) breaks crucial levels, pointing to historical trends and money flow indicators supporting the meme coin's upward momentum.

"Plug Power, EVgo, Enovix: Analyst Clean Tech Picks For Navigating Election Exposure, Hedging Uncertainty" by Surbhi Jain

The piece covers a JPMorgan analyst's recommendations for navigating election-related market volatility, highlighting Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) and EVgo Inc. (NASDAQ:EVGO) for potential upside, while suggesting Enovix Corp. (NASDAQ:ENVX) as a safer hedge given its focus on consumer electronics and non-U.S. markets.

For additional bullish calls of the past week, check out the following:

Palantir Stock Moves Higher On L3Harris Partnership: What You Need To Know

US Economy Eyes 3.4% Growth In Q3: Is Soft Landing Turning Into Reacceleration?

The Bears

"Goldman Sachs Predicts Bleak Long-Term S&P 500 Returns As Market Concentration Hits 'Highest Level In 100 Years'" by Piero Cingari

The story outlines Goldman Sachs' forecast of only 3% annualized returns for the S&P 500 over the next decade, warning that extreme market concentration driven by Apple Inc. (NYSE:AAPL) and others could severely limit growth compared to the past decade's 13% return.

"Lucid CEO Throws Cold Water On Tesla's Robotaxi Vision, Says Self-Driving Cars Won't Happen 'Till The 2030s'" by Chris Katje

The article highlights Peter Rawlinson's doubts about the immediate future of self-driving cars, predicting widespread deployment no sooner than the 2030s and critiquing Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Elon Musk's autonomous ambitions.

"Peter Schiff Predicts A 'Bloodbath' For MicroStrategy Stock, Calls It The Most Overvalued On MSCI World Index" by Aniket Verma

The piece reports on Peter Schiff's warning that MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) is significantly overvalued within the MSCI World Index, expecting a dramatic crash due to its heavy reliance on Bitcoin (BTC) holdings and speculative strategies.

For more bearish takes, be sure to see these posts:

Five US Banks Face Billions In Losses As Silver's Price Spike Hits Short Sellers Hard: Report

Ozempic And Wegovy Maker Novo Nordisk Asks FDA To Halt Production Of Compounded Fat Loss Drugs Due To Their 'Inherent Complexity

Rivian Analyst Cuts Estimates On Demand Concerns, Warns Softer Production, Delivery Trends Jeopardize Growth Stock Multiple

Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.

Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.