Techosta Where Tech Starts From
U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with both the Dow and the S&P 500 ending at new records as technology shares rebounded from a recent bout of sharp weakness to lead the market higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.29% rose 144.71 points, or 0.7%, to 21,528.99, ending at its highs of the day, which represented both an intraday and a closing record. With the day’s move, the blue-chip average is up 8.9% so far this year.
The S&P 500 SPX, -0.67% gained 20.31 points to 2,453.46, a gain of 0.8%. The large-cap index, up 9.6% in the year to date, hit its own intraday record of 2,453.82 on Monday finished near that high.
The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.82% rose 87.25 points to 6,239.01, a gain of 1.4% that represented its biggest one-day point and percentage move since Nov. 7. The outsize move in the index was largely due to gains in tech, as the index is heavily weighted toward the sector. The tech benchmark is just about 80 points shy of its June 8 closing high.
Among the most notable tech gainers on Monday, Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.91% rose 2.9% in its biggest one-day advance since February, while Facebook Inc. FB, -0.41% was up 1.5%. Among other major internet names, Amazon.com Inc. AMZN, -0.26% added 0.8%. The tech sector overall XLK, -0.80% rose 1.5% in its biggest one-day rise since December.
“Tech got beat up unfavorably over the past week or two, but as the group’s earnings remain strong, we expect buyers are coming in to take advantage of the depressed prices,” said Peter Lewis, a managing partner at Murphy Capital Management. “Tech valuations are probably nearly the high end of the band, but if earnings and merger activity keep going, that could bode well for the sector.”
Investors are likely to keep tech stocks in focus this week, amid concerns the sector could start to drag down the broader market, given the Federal Reserve has indicated it will tighten policy and economic data have failed to inspire. That major indexes are trading near records at a time when data have painted a mixed picture of the economy.
“We are deeply concerned about the market’s valuation,” said Phil Davis, chief executive officer at PSW Investments, who said he was viewing the 5,600 on the Nasdaq as a key level, one that is about 2.3% below its Friday closing price. “If we fail to hold 5,600, then you will begin to see panic setting in as fund managers are forced to consider the reality of their overvalued holdings.”
Moves in tech also come as some titans of the industry, including Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook and Microsoft Corp.’s MSFT, -1.35% CEO Satya Nadella, met with President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss updating federal computer systems and preventing cyberattacks, among other tech matters.
See: There’s no ‘90s-style bubble in tech stocks, says Cumberland’s Kotok
Economic docket: Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is slated to give a speech to the Money Marketeers of New York University at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Stocks to watch: Shares of Boeing Co. BA, -0.38% rose 1.3% after the aircraft maker said more than 10 customers have committed to buying its 737 Max 10 airplanes. It made the announcement at the 2017 Paris Air Show on Monday. Among the orders, General Electric Co.’s GE, -2.33% plane-leasing unit GECAS, signed an order for 20 of the planes.
Read: Boeing sees big gap in the market for a revamped jetliner—but won’t rush in
In a blog post Sunday, Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL, -0.64% Google Inc. announced a four-step plan to fight terror, including the use of technology to spot extremist and terror-related videos. The stock rose 1.7%, participating in the broader tech rally.
Europe inspires: While Asian stocks kicked the week off higher, even more robust gains were seen for European stocks on Monday. The French CAC 40 indexPX1, -1.06% rose 0.9% after French President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-Europe Union party and its centrist ally saw a decisive victory in parliamentary elections. The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.69% rose about 1%.
The FTSE 100 index UKX, -0.06% added 0.6%. U.K. officials were set to meet with their Brussels counterparts on Monday to start talks over Britain leaving the European Union. Meanwhile, in what police are calling a terrorist attack, a van rammed into a crowd near a mosque in North London, leaving one person dead and several injured.
Other markets: Oil prices US:CLN7 gave up early gains to slump 1.3%, while the dollar DXY, -0.01% was unchanged on the day. Gold prices GCQ7, +0.30% lost 0.8%.
[“Source-ndtv”]