Closing Market Summary: Stocks Register Third Consecutive WinOn Monday, investors continued chipping away at last Wednesday's big loss, pushing the stock market to its third consecutive win. The S&P 500 and the Dow added 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Nasdaq (+0.8%) settled a step ahead of its peers.
The benchmark index dropped 44 points, or 1.8%, last Wednesday in response to a New York Times article that accused President Trump of asking former FBI Director James Comey to shut down the Bureau's investigation of former National Security adviser Michael Flynn. However, since the tumble, the S&P 500 has reclaimed all but seven points of the loss, as the buy-the-dip trade has prevailed once again.
Ten of eleven sectors settled in positive territory on Monday with the technology (+1.0%) and utilities (+0.9%) spaces leading the charge. The technology group was underpinned by large-cap names like Microsoft (MSFT 68.45, +0.76), Alphabet (GOOGL 964.07, +9.42), and Qualcomm (QCOM 59.28, +1.61) with QCOM showing relative strength (+2.8%) after the company's stock was upgraded to 'Overweight' from 'Neutral' at JP Morgan. QCOM's positive performance rubbed off on its semiconductor peers, evidenced by the 1.1% increase in the PHLX Semiconductor Index.
The industrial sector also finished ahead of the broader market, thanks in part to defense names like Boeing (BA 183.67, +2.91) and Lockheed Martin (LMT 277.03, +4.24). The two names added 1.6% apiece following a weekend meeting between President Trump and King Salman of Saudi Arabia, which included the signing of a $110 billion arms deal. The consumer staples (+0.6%) and consumer discretionary (+0.6%) sectors also outperformed.
Most of the remaining sectors finished with modest gains between 0.1% and 0.3%. However, the energy sector (-0.2%) settled in negative territory despite crude oil's positive performance. The energy component jumped 0.9% to $51.14/bbl as investors displayed confidence that top oil producers will extend the original OPEC/non-OPEC production cut agreement by six to nine months when they meet in Vienna on Thursday. In addition to pushing back the end date, reports indicate that producers may increase the magnitude of the supply cuts.
In U.S. corporate news, Ford Motor (F 11.10, +0.23) officially announced that Jim Hackett will replace Mark Fields as the company's Chief Executive Officer on Monday morning. According to a Wall Street Journal report that was released earlier this month, Ford's Board of Directors has been looking to refine the company's strategy in response to a declining market share and a disappointing stock performance. Ford shares lost around 36.0% of their value during Mr. Fields time as CEO.
U.S. Treasuries settled slightly lower across the board with the benchmark 10-yr yield climbing two basis points to 2.25%. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar lost 0.3% against the euro (1.1240) after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the single currency is too weak.
Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday, but, on Tuesday, market participants will receive April New Home Sales (consensus 605,000) at 10:00 ET.
- Nasdaq Composite +13.9% YTD
- S&P 500 +6.9% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +5.7% YTD
- Russell 2000 1.5% YTD
