Stocks rose Monday as investors built on the previous session's historic move to record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 138.01 points, or 0.36%, to finish at 38,001.81. Monday's gains pushed the blue-chip average to a new record and above the 38,000 level for the first time. The S&P 500 added 0.22% to 4,850.43, also reaching a fresh all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.32% to 15,360.29.
Macy's rose more than 3% after rejecting a $5.8 billion proposal to take the retailer private. SolarEdge jumped roughly 4% on the back of the company announcing it would lay off 16% of its workforce.
Archer-Daniels-Midland plunged more than 24% after issuing weak earnings guidance and placing CFO Vikram Luthar on leave amid an investigation tied to accounting practices. B Riley Financial slipped around 2.5% after Bloomberg reported that regulators are investigating deals with a client connected to securities fraud.
Monday's gains come after the broad S&P 500 on Friday broke above its intraday and closing record highs set in January 2022. The move signaled that Wall Street is indeed in a bull run that began in October 2022 after stocks plunged earlier that year.
"It's almost like a fear of missing out," said Brian Price, head of investment management at Commonwealth Financial. "We had a little bit of volatility to start the year as investors maybe rebalance portfolios and look to realize some gains. But now, it just seems like we're resuming the trend that was clearly in place" in the fourth quarter.
Wall Street's strength may depend on whether the U.S. central bank successfully engineers a soft landing, cooling the economy to lower inflation while avoiding a recession.
Traders are now pricing in a roughly 40% chance of a Fed rate cut in March, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool. That marks a steep decrease from almost 81% a week earlier. There's a nearly 58% likelihood that the central bank will keep rates steady, up from around 19% one week prior.
Investors will be closely watching a slate of economic reports due out this week, including fourth quarter gross domestic product on Thursday and the Fed's favorite inflation measure, December's personal consumption expenditures price index on Friday. Both reports will help shape how Fed officials view monetary policy moving forward.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the report date for gross domestic product data. The Commerce Department will release its initial gross domestic product estimate on Thursday.
Stocks closed higher on Monday, marking another record-breaking session.
The Dow added 0.36%, finishing above the 38,000 level for the first time ever. The S&P 500 added 0.22%, also recording a fresh all-time high.
The Nasdaq Composite also ended the session higher with a 0.32% advance.
— Alex Harring
Profitable technology stocks are showing some signs of fatigue coming off a strong two-week stretch, according to BTIG's Jonathan Krinsky.
"We have some potentially important green-to-red downside reversals in some tech names," the chief market technician said, adding that their could be some "downside shakeouts" in the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund and VanEck Semionconductor ETF. "Mega-cap tech and semis are stalling out here as they show upside exhaustion signals."
Elsewhere, Krinsky views the energy sector as "compelling" from a risk-reward perspective, even though the group's down on a year-to-date basis.
"Daily stochastics are oversold, and the ETF bounced off the lower end of its trend channel," he wrote. "Using a stop below 126-127 and targeting a move back towards 135-140 makes sense to us."
— Samantha Subin
There's a shift in the justification for bullish investors, according to David Donabedian, chief investment officer of CIBC Private Wealth.
Donabedian said the "story is changing" for bulls. They have moved beyond excitement about the potential for forthcoming interest rate hikes, he said, to an all-around confidence that the economy is infallible.
"Investor optimism had been driven by the belief there would be aggressive rate cuts by the Fed," Donabedian said. "Now investor belief has pivoted to view the economy as bullet-proof. No matter how high interest rates go, the economy will continue to glide right through."
— Alex Harring
Any closing gain for the Dow on Monday will be its second straight record and third this year, having reached those earlier milestones on Jan. 2 (37,715) and Jan. 19 (37,864). The blue-chip index is also on pace to take out Friday's intraday peak of 37,933.73.
The 30-stock Dow eclipsed its prior high, dating from January 2022, on Dec. 13, 2023, and went on to end the month with a total of seven new, all-time closing highs.
The S&P 500 came to the party a little later, finally taking out its January 2022 highs on both a closing and intraday basis on Friday, Jan. 19. It's now poised to set a record for a second straight day on Monday.
The Nasdaq Composite Index, meanwhile, has yet to top its Nov. 19, 2021 closing record of 16,057, or its Nov. 22, 2021 intraday peak of 16,121.
— Scott Schnipper
More than 50 companies in the S&P 500, or about 13% of the broader index, have reported mostly in-line earnings so far. But lackluster beats aren't necessarily a bad sign, according to Bank of America strategist Savita Subramanian.
"So far, beats saw almost no rewards (+20bps the next day), while misses got penalized (-500bps), pointing to a higher bar after a big rally," Subramanian wrote in a Monday note, adding that the proportion of beats is getting weaker. Still, the strategist said, "we don't believe weak guidance and estimate cuts in 1Q are good reasons to sell equities."
Subramanian noted that weaker guidance has not been a surprise, as January to February has seasonally been the weakest period for guidance and companies don't have reason to guide aggressively. Companies have actually sounded more positive, with the bank's Corporate Sentiment Indicator jumping back to the peak level seen in the fourth quarter of 2021, she pointed out.
Other earnings trends this year suggest that the peak corporate layoff cycle has passed and that the consumer spending boom is over, Subramanian said, adding that rising sentiment and consumption discipline contributes to a higher chance of a soft economic landing.
— Pia Singh
The three major indexes stayed in the green as the final trading hour commenced.
The Dow and S&P 500 each climbed about 0.2% shortly after 3 p.m. ET. Both clinched new all-time highs during the session.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced around 0.3%, trading at levels not seen in more than two years. The technology-heavy index was last within 5% of meeting both its intraday high and record close.
— Alex Harring
Stocks should pull back from highs before ascending in the second half of 2024, according to Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment officer of BMO Wealth Management.
Ma said the market is "hanging its hopes" on a narrow set of stocks, while noting weakness in Apple and Tesla within that cohort. That can indicate a shrinking group of leaders, with Ma saying the term du jour could switch to the "Fab 5" from the "Magnificent 7."
In this environment, he said the market is more likely to return to charted waters following Friday's rally to new all-time highs for the S&P 500 than to continue ascending.
"The broader market looks more prone to consolidating its gains from November and December rather than rallying to new highs," Ma said. "While there has been additional strength in areas of the market such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors, an even broader rally across additional sectors would be welcome."
Still, he said the outlook for stocks should sweeten by the second half of 2024 as interest rate cuts begin and the spending environment improves. But it should be a rocky path to that point, the investing chief warned.
"Between now and the spring, we expect the market to have bouts of caution," Ma said. "The prospect of an improved second half of 2024 is likely to get cloudier before it becomes clearer."
— Alex Harring
The winter storms across the Midwest, Northeast and South in the U.S. likely contributed to decreased credit card spending in the week ending Jan. 13, according to Bank of America.
Total card spending per household dropped 0.4% year-over-year in that week, per the firm's credit and debit card data.
"Spending on discretionary services - entertainment, restaurants, lodging and airlines - was the most affected," said U.S. and global economist Shruti Mishra.
— Hakyung Kim
The fourth-quarter earnings season is off to a lackluster beginning. Of the 52 S&P 500 companies that have reported thus far, only 69% have posted a positive surprise, according to FactSet data. That's below the 5-year average of 77%, and the 10-year average of 74%.
In fact, FactSet data shows S&P 500 earnings are tracking to have fallen 1.9% in the fourth quarter. If that bears out, it would be the fourth time in the past five quarters earnings dropped year over year, according to a Friday note from FactSet's John Butters.
Regardless, corporate earnings will ramp up this week with results expected from AT&T, D.R. Horton, Halliburton, Procter & Gamble, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and American Express, among others.
— Sarah Min
The S&P 500 may have soared to new heights to close last Friday's trading session, but HSBC says that investors shouldn't count on the equity rally to carry on for much longer.
"Under the hood, there are cracks emerging," wrote analyst Max Kettner. "While it may be tempting to chase the latest all-time highs, we maintain our view of a Reverse Goldilocks episode hitting virtually all asset classes in the coming months."
As evidence, Kettner pointed to "shakier" activity in markets beyond the U.S. large-cap names driven by the AI frenzy. Small- and micro-caps, high-beta and meme stocks are all down this year, alongside European equities.
Additionally, Kettner underscored that the gains in U.S. large-cap stocks have so far been primarily driven by high-quality names. On the other hand, low-quality names appear to already have begun suffering.
— Lisa Kailai Han
The large-cap selling story has shown staying power even as the broader economic outlook improves, according to Wells Fargo analyst Christopher Harvey.
Harvey noted that the average large-cap stock has lagged the S&P 500 since reporting earnings so far this season. That's despite a stronger macroeconomic picture, he added.
On the other side of the spectrum, he said reporting financials has positively catalyzed the average small-cap name.
"We think large-cap 'sell-the-news' remains in effect," he wrote in a Monday note to clients.
— Alex Harring
The Dow advanced on Monday, continuing its ascent into uncharted territory.
At session high, the blue-chip average rose around 245 points, or 0.65%, for a new all-time record. That gain pushed the 30-stock index above the 38,100 level.
— Alex Harring
These are the stocks moving the most in midday trading:
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Oil prices rose more than $1 on Monday, after a suspected Ukrainian drone strike on a major Russian fuel terminal placed renewed focus on the threat to crude supplies.
The West Texas Intermediate futures contract for February rose by $1.42, 1.93%, to trade at $74.83 a barrel. The Brent contract for March gained $1.12, or 1.43%, to trade at $79.68 a barrel.
Ukrainian drones struck a Russian fuel processing and export terminal on the Baltic Sea called Ust-Luga, sources in Kyiv told the BBC and The Wall Street Journal.
"The Ukrainian drone attack on the Baltic port raises the question: Is this going to be a policy decision by Ukrainians to attack Russian oil infrastructure," said Bob Yawger, managing director and energy futures strategist at Mizuho Americas. "If that's the case, that's a problem," Yawger said.
— Spencer Kimball
Industrial stocks gave upward momentum to the S&P 500 on Monday, helping the broad index notch new all-time records.
The sector climbed 0.8% in the session, making it the best performing of the 11 that comprise the broad index. By comparison, the S&P 500 advanced around 0.3%, propelled to highs never before seen.
Old Dominion led the industrials sector higher with a gain of more than 3%. Norfolk Southern and J.B. Hunt also provided steam to the sector's rise as each rallied nearly 3%.
Communication services, real estate, financials and information technology also aided the S&P 500, with each sector up more than 0.5% in the session. Energy, consumer staples, consumer discretionary and utilities were all in the red, restricting gains for the index.
— Alex Harring
Archer-Daniels-Midland is on pace for its second worst day in its history going back to 1972. The food processer stock plunged 19.2% during midday trading, or its biggest slide since Oct. 19, 1987 when the stock lost 19.89%.
The move comes after CFO Vikram Luthar was placed on administrative leave following an investigation into the food processer's accounting practices. The company also issued disappointing fourth-quarter earnings guidance. Separately, Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock.
— Sarah Min, Gina Francolla
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index declined again in December, but the 0.1% drop wasn't as bad as the estimate for a 0.3% move.
While the index, which looks at 10 metrics for employment, manufacturing and housing, along with yield spreads and stock market prices, still pointed to recession, it showed improvement in six of the factors considered.
"As the magnitude of monthly declines has lessened, the LEI's six-month and twelve-month growth rates have turned upward but remain negative, continuing to signal the risk of recession ahead," said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, the organization's senior manager for business cycle indicators. "Overall, we expect GDP growth to turn negative in Q2 and Q3 of 2024 but begin to recover late in the year."
—Jeff Cox
Silver hit its lowest price in around two months, also weighing on a fund designed to track the metal.
The metal traded as cheap as $22.15 on Monday. That marks the worst level since Nov. 14, when it also hit $22.15.
The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) slipped more than 2% in morning trading, on pace for its fifth straight day of losses.
— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla
Stocks opened higher on Monday, bringing the Dow and S&P 500 further into uncharted waters.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET, while the Dow traded higher by 93 points, or 0.3%. Both notched new all-time highs to start the week.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5%.
— Alex Harring
Stocks tied to natural gas were under pressure on Monday morning, with Range Resources falling more than 2%. Comstock Resources, Northern Oil & Gas and Antero Resources all dipped more than 1% on light trading.
The declines for energy stocks came as the price of natural gas futures fell 6% in premarket trading. The commodity is on track for its fifth straight negative session, and is trading at its lowest level since Dec. 13.
— Jesse Pound, Gina Francolla