A week short due to holidays saw a spike in stocks on Monday, driven by robust technological gains led by Microsoft and Nvidia.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 35,151.04, up 203.76 points, or 0.58%. While the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.13% to settle at 14,284.53, the S&P 500 gained 0.74% to conclude at 4,547.38. For the fifth day running, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both saw advances.
Following news that CEO Satya Nadella will be joining the tech giant to head a new AI research team, Microsoft shares increased 2% and hit a 52-week high.
Preceding its earnings release on Tuesday afternoon, chipmaker Nvidia saw a 2.3% increase in shares, closing at an all-time high.
With gains of 1.5% and 1%, respectively, the IT and communication services sectors led the S&P 500. While Intel increased by 2.1%, Palo Alto Networks saw a 5.2% increase. Netflix saw a 1.8% growth, while Paramount saw a 5.6% increase.
The Thanksgiving holiday will keep U.S. markets closed on Thursday. Furthermore, Friday’s trading day will be curtailed. The Stock Traders’ Almanack states that although there has been bumpy trading in the run-up to Thanksgiving, November continues to be the greatest month for the S&P 500.
Bullish market sentiment persists till the end of the year, especially in light of last week’s less-than-expected U.S. inflation statistics, which assuaged investor concerns over unabated prices and offered a positive signal that interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve might be on hold. Following a robust auction of 20-year Treasury notes, yields on Monday also continued to decrease.
“The recent rebound from the end of October to today has been driven, in part, by a half-percentage decline in Treasury yields, which bolsters asset values,” stated Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank.
Source (CNBC)
