The Nasdaq and S&P 500 experienced gains on Monday as growth stocks performed well, with investors eagerly awaiting comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and upcoming data to gauge the trajectory of interest rates. Several megacap stocks, including Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon.com, Alphabet, and Microsoft, saw gains ranging from 0.9% to 2.0%. Nvidia also rose by 3.1% after being added to Goldman Sachs’ conviction list. However, Tesla’s stock dipped by 0.7% as it missed market estimates for Q3 deliveries. Information technology stocks saw a notable jump of 1.2%, while utilities were the biggest decliner among the major S&P 500 sectors, falling by 2.6%.
Investors were focused on comments from Powell and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker during a roundtable discussion, as well as remarks from Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester later in the day. Additionally, the final estimate of the S&P Global September Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) came in at 49.8, slightly higher than the preliminary estimate released in September. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) also reported that its manufacturing PMI increased to 49.0 in September, the highest reading since November 2022. Traders’ bets on the benchmark rate remained steady for November and December, but they have already priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut as early as March.
Looking ahead, investors are awaiting job openings data on Tuesday and the monthly jobs report at the end of the week for further insight into the Fed’s interest-rate trajectory. Throughout the July-September period, U.S. stocks ended lower, marking their first quarterly decline in 2023, as market participants grappled with the possibility of interest rates remaining elevated for an extended period due to inflation concerns fueled by higher crude prices. Despite this, there was some relief over the weekend as Congress passed a stopgap funding bill, easing partisan tensions. As of mid-morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.17%, the S&P 500 was up 0.17%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.76%. Notable gainers included Coinbase, which climbed by 4.1% after securing a payments license from Singapore’s central bank, and Viatris, which added 4.0% after announcing agreements to divest some of its businesses for up to $3.6 billion.
(Source: Reuters)
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