Tech stocks rise on an uneven day for U.S. indexes
Wall Street capped a mostly listless day of trading Monday with an uneven finish for U.S. stock indexes.
Gains by technology and materials stocks were mostly outweighed by losses among real estate companies, banks and other sectors. Macy’s and other big retailers also took hefty losses.
Energy companies rose as the price of crude oil rebounded from an early slide.
Investors were making moves ahead of the next corporate earnings reporting season, which ramps up this week. Technology stocks were a favorite, with traders expecting the sector companies to post solid results, said Anastasia Amoroso, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
“There’s definitely a pivot going on to earnings from some of the trading last week,” Amoroso said, adding that “investors are looking for some of the higher growth opportunities, and tech definitely stands out.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,427.43. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 5.82 points, or less than 0.1%, to 21,408.52. The Nasdaq composite rose 23.31 points, or 0.4%, to 6,176.39. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 7.36 points, or 0.5%, to 1,408.47.
About as many stocks rose as fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.37% from 2.39%.
Investors appeared to mostly focus on the coming start of the second-quarter earnings season. The market expects earnings-per-share growth of about 7% from companies in the S&P 500.
Traders also were looking ahead to potential news out of the Federal Reserve later this week. Fed chief Janet L. Yellen is due to address Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We’re going through a transition phase where interest rates and Fed policy were very friendly for quite some time and that was the most important support for the markets,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird. “Now we’re moving more toward the revival of the global economy, including the U.S., and what that might mean for earnings prospects … and the markets are now dwelling on that potential.”
The S&P 500’s technology sector, which went through a sell-off a few weeks ago, notched the biggest gain Monday. Chip maker Nvidia led the group, climbing 4.7% to $153.70.
Materials companies also posted big gains. CF Industries led the pack, rising 6.6% to $29.72.
Big department stores slumped, led by Macy’s. The department store chain was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, sliding 7.1% to $21.08. Gap sank 6.3% to $21.21. Best Buy declined 6.3% to $54.23.
Teen fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch dived 21.1% to $9.59 after the struggling chain said it is no longer up for sale. The company, which had said in May it was talking with several possible buyers, said that sales remain strong at its surf-inspired Hollister brand.
Investors welcomed news of deals that were moving forward.
ClubCorp soared 30.2% $17.05 after private equity firm Apollo Global Management agreed to buy the golf and country club company for $17.12 a share, or $1.1 billion. Apollo shares rose 2.2% to $26.91.
Hawaiian Telcom surged 18.1% to $28.87 on news that the phone company will combine with Cincinnati Bell in a deal Hawaiian Telcom said is worth $650 million, or $30.75 per share of its stock. As part of the deal, Cincinnati Bell is buying another company, OnX Enterprise Solutions, for $201 million. Cincinnati Bell shares slid 7% to $18.
Pepsi and Delta Air Lines are among the big companies due to report their latest quarterly results this week. JPMorgan Chase, PNC Financial Services Group, Wells Fargo and Citigroup report earnings Friday.
Energy futures notched gains. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 17 cents to settle at $44.40 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 17 cents to $46.88 a barrel.
Wholesale gasoline stayed at $1.50 a gallon. Heating oil stayed at $1.45 a gallon. Natural gas rose 7 cents to $2.93 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold inched up $3.50 to $1,213.20 an ounce. Silver rose 20 cents to $15.63 an ounce. Copper stayed at $2.65 a pound.
Major markets in Europe closed higher. Germany’s DAX rose 0.5%, while the CAC 40 in France gained 0.4%. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares picked up 0.3%.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei index gained 0.8%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7%. South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.1%. India’s Sensex climbed 0.9%.
And in Australia, Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.4%.
In currency trading, the dollar rose to 114.05 yen from 113.99 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1403 from $1.1404.
UPDATES:
2:40 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analyst comments.
This article was originally published at 6:55 a.m.
