Nasdaq posts first 2024 gain as yields decline
NEW YORK — The Nasdaq scored its first gain of at least 1% in 2024 on Monday, as a fall in Treasury yields helped lift mega-cap stocks, while a sharp drop in Boeing shares kept gains on the Dow Industrials in check.
Mega-caps advanced, lifting stocks such as Amazon.com which closed up 2.66% and Alphabet, which rose 2.29%, as Treasury yields fell ahead of readings on inflation and a new supply of government debt this week, with the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield hitting a low of 3.966% on the session.
In addition, Apple climbed 2.42% after the iPhone maker said its Vision Pro mixedreality device will be available for sale from Feb. 2 in the United States.
Nvidia surged 6.3% and fellow chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices jumped 5.48%, helping to push the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index up 3.28% as it bounced from a 5.8% drop last week, its biggest weekly percentage fall since October 2022.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 216.90 points or 0.58% to 37,683.01; the S&P 500 gained 66.30 points or 1.41% to 4,763.54; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 319.70 points or 2.2% to 14,843.77.
Meanwhile, Boeing shares plunged 8.03% after the plane maker and US regulators gave the go-ahead on Monday for airlines to inspect jets that were grounded after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated 737 MAX 9 in mid-flight which forced a dramatic landing of the airliner over the weekend.
The S&P 500 energy index was the sole decliner among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, falling 1.16% after hitting its lowest level in a month as crude prices sank about 4% after sharp price cuts by top exporter Saudi Arabia and a rise in OPEC output.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Monday that the central bank’s dual goals of lowering inflation and maintaining low unemployment are not yet in conflict.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3-to-1 ratio on the NYSE while on the Nasdaq, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.3-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq recorded 101 new highs and 92 new lows.