Closing Market Summary: Stocks Hit Records for Fifth Consecutive SessionEquities ticked higher on Monday, settling in record territory for the fifth session in a row.
The Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.3% to 7157.39 and the S&P 500 advanced 0.2% to 2747.71. The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, finishing lower by 0.1% at 25283.00.
The market struggled for direction following a quiet weekend and ahead of the fourth quarter earnings season, which will kick off on Friday with reports from JPMorgan Chase (JPM 108.50, +0.16) and Wells Fargo (WFC 62.04, -0.71). Stocks opened the session slightly lower and then rose slowly throughout the day.
Nine of eleven sectors finished in positive territory. The lightly-weighted utilities (+0.9%) and real estate (+0.6%) sectors were the top performers, bouncing back from poor showings last week, while the top-weighted technology group (+0.4%) extended its lead for the year; the tech space is up 4.6% year to date.
The energy sector (+0.6%) rallied in the afternoon, helped by an increase in the price of crude oil; West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 0.4% to $61.69 per barrel. The industrial sector (+0.4%) also had a positive showing, thanks in part to transports, which pushed the Dow Jones Transportation Average (+0.8%) to a new record high.
On the downside, the heavily-weighted health care (-0.4%) and financials (-0.1%) spaces declined. Within the health care group, biotech shares showed particular weakness, sending the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 108.37, -1.46) lower by 1.3%.
In corporate news, GoPro (GPRO 6.56, -0.96) faced heavy selling after slashing its revenue guidance for the holiday season and announcing its exit from the drone business. GPRO shares held losses of around 30% at the opening bell, but ended the session lower by 12.8%.
Kohl's (KSS 56.90, +2.54) jumped 4.7% after reporting a 6.9% year-over-year increase in same-store sales for November and December while Crocs (CROX 13.23, +1.03) climbed 8.4% after raising its revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries began the week on a quiet note with the benchmark 10-yr yield closing flat at 2.48%.
Elsewhere, the Euro Stoxx 50 (+0.3%) advanced to a four-month high on Monday, climbing for the fourth session in a row. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU restarted talks with SPD over the weekend in a last-ditch effort to form a coalition government following months of deadlock.
In the Asia-Pacific region, the major stock indices also moved modestly higher, but Japan's Nikkei was closed for Coming of Age Day.
Monday's lone economic report--the Consumer Credit report for November--showed an increase of 27.9 billion (consensus $18.0 billion). October credit growth was revised to $20.6 billion from $20.5 billion.
On Tuesday, investors will receive the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index and the November Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 6:00 AM ET and 10:00 AM ET, respectively.
