4:12pm: Big names fall on the Nasdaq
The Dow closed Monday down 13 points at 33,715, the Nasdaq Composite fell 157 points, 1.2%, to 133,336 and the S&P 500 declined 20 points, 0.5%, to 4,329. The small-cap Russell 2000 index added 7 points, 0.4%, to 1,829.
Tech stocks took major losses across the board, as Nvidia, Alphabet and Meta each dropped more than 3% and Tesla managed to slide over 6% on a downgrade from Goldman Sachs.
A tech slump isn't the end of the world, however, given how the year started, according to Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments.
“The market is in digestion mode,” Sarhan said. “We’ve had a very big run this year, led primarily by the big cap tech stocks and the Nasdaq 100.”.
12:05pm: Stocks seesaw ahead of quarter end
US stocks were mixed in noon trading on lack of momentum to kick off the last trading week of June.
At midday, the Dow rose 19 points to 33,746, while the S&P 500 eased a single point at 4,348 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 33 points to 13,460.
“We’re seeing a little bit of nibbling after the first down week in many ... and probably some rightsizing of investment books into the quarter end,” Truist co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner said.
Notable movers included shares of Pfizer Inc, which fell more than 4% after the pharmaceutical giant said it would halt development of its experimental obesity and diabetes pill, lotiglipron, citing elevated liver enzymes.
9:35am: Stocks mixed at the open
The three major US indexes struggled for direction at the open on Monday as investors waited to see the impact of the Wagner incident in Russia this past weekend on markets.
Just after the opening bell in New York, the Dow Jones was flat at 33,732 points, while the S&P 500 had slipped 4 points or 0.1% at 4,344 points and the Nasdaq was down 14 points or 0.1% at 13,483 points.
“Stocks are pointing to a muted open as investors weigh up the abolished mutiny in Russia over the weekend and look ahead to inflation data at the end of this week,” said FOREX.com market analyst Fiona Cincotta.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares were down about 1.5% at the open after the stock was downgraded from ‘Buy’ to ‘Neutral’ by Goldman Sachs analysts.
Alphabet stock also slipped 1.2% after it was downgraded from 'Buy' to ‘Neutral’ by USB analysts who said they see limited upside and monetization risk.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid, on the other hand, was up 9.3% on the news it has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with British car brand Aston Martin.
7:50am: Stocks head south
US stocks are expected to tick lower in early trade on Monday as investors start the final week of June, and the first half of 2023, cautiously following last week's declines.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were flat, while those for the S&P 500 fell 0.1% and those for the Nasdaq 100 shed 0.2%.
After further falls on Friday, over the last week, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4%, breaking an eight-week win streak, while the S&P 500 shed 1.0%, ending a five-week streak, and the DJIA which has underperformed in 2023, shed 1.7% to end a three-week positive run.
For the first half of the year, however, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is up nearly 29% year-to-date, and the S&P 500 is up more than 13%. although the DJIA is up less than 2%.
Traders will likely keep an eye on the situation in Russia which saw a brief rebellion by a private military group over the weekend, and uncertainty about the situation there will likely keep the markets cautious overall.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank commented: "The weekend was eventful with the unexpected rebellion of the Wagner Group against the Kremlin. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s men, who fight for Putin in the deadliest battles in Ukraine walked towards Moscow this weekend as Prigozhin accused the Kremlin of not providing enough arms to his troops.
"But suddenly, Prigozhin called off the attack following an agreement brokered by Belarus and agreed to go into exile. The Kremlin took back control of the situation, but we haven’t seen Vladimir Putin, or Prigozhin talk since then. The Wagner incident may have exposed Putin’s weakness, and was the most serious threat to his rule in two decades. It could be a turning point in the war in Ukraine. But nothing is more unsure. According to Volodymyr Zelensky, there are no indications that Wagner fighters are retreating from the battlefield."
She added: "The Wagner incident will likely remain broadly ignored by investors, unless there are fresh developments that could change the course of the war in Ukraine. Until then, markets will be back to business as usual. There is nothing much on today’s economic calendar, but the rest of the week will be busy with a series of inflation reports from Canada, Australia, Europe, the US, and Japan."
There are few corporate earnings due in this final week of the month, with the highlights being Walgreens Boots Alliance earnings on Tuesday and those for Nike on Thursday.