- Wall Street eyes economic data ahead
- Gold hits record high price
- JP Morgan boss warns on future of AI
4:12pm: Stocks flat at the close
US stocks were little changed at Monday’s closing bell with investors taking a breather ahead of a slew of economic data due later in the week.
The Nasdaq added 5 points at 16,253 points, while the Dow Jones was down 11 points at 38,892 points and the S&P 500 was down 2 points at 5,202 points.
Gold closed at $2,357.30 per ounce after hitting a new record-high price.
1.44pm: Markets recede from day’s highs
Markets receded from earlier gains to trade just within the green come afternoon on Monday.
The Dow Jones was up 9 points at 38,913 by lunchtime, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 had scaled back to sit just 6 and 2 points higher at 16,254 and 5,206 respectively.
Though trading was quiet as investors looked ahead to a busy period of macro updates later in the week, commodities and bitcoin were moving.
Bitcoin looked to begin heading back towards last month’s all-time highs, thanks in part to the return of flows into exchange-traded funds, climbing 3.3% to US$71,527.10.
Gold continued in record-breaking territory in the meantime, having hit a new high of over US$2,350 earlier in the day, building on solid momentum in recent months.
“It is quite intriguing to see whether the metal can maintain these lofty levels, or will it stage an overdue correction now,” City Index analyst Fawad Razaqzadal noted.
Oil prices moved lower during the day meanwhile, with benchmark Crude dipping 0.7% to US$90.22 a barrel as tensions appeared to ease in the Middle East over the weekend.
Among companies, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA, ETR:TL0) held gains of over 5% after Elon Musk revealed its robotaxi would be unveiled in August late last week.
Electric vehicle sector peer Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB, ETR:AMC) also emerged as a big riser, with the lithium supplier climbing 6.8% into the afternoon.
11.35am: Markets hold gains into late morning
A 56-point gain saw the Dow Jones lead the markets higher into late-morning trading on Monday, with the index coming to sit at 38,960.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 added 55 and 11 points respectively in the meantime, climbing to 16,303 and 5,215.
Among companies, Elon Musk’s announcement on X late last week that Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA, ETR:TL0)’s robotaxi would be unveiled in August had shares in the electric vehicle giant up 5.6%.
GE Vernova Inc also enjoyed strong gains, climbing 5.3% and recouping falls seen after the energy technology firm was spun out from General Electric last week.
Falling though was Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) by 4.6%, on weekend news Skydance owner David Ellison had agreed to buy a controlling stake in the company for just over $2 billion.
On a slow day of macro news, markets looked to still be digesting strong jobs data from last week, which showed an expectation-beating 303,000 roles were added in March, signalling the strength of the US economy but placing rate cut hopes for June in doubt.
“Today represents the calm before the storm, with a largely empty economic calendar giving way to a week that sees US inflation, three monetary policy decisions, and the commencement of the third first quarter US earnings season,” Scope Market’s Joshua Mahony commented.
“[This comes] off the back of a Friday session that brought as many questions as answers for markets.”
9.32am: Wall Street opens higher
Wall Street has opened slightly higher as investors hope the rally which has carried through much of 2024 can continue this week.
The Dow Jones opened 30 points higher at 38,934, while the S&P 500 jumped 5 points to 5,208.
The Nasdaq lifted 34 points to 16,283.
Some of the big movers included Tesla, which shot up a little over 2% after boss Elon Musk said it would be showcasing its hotly-awaited robotaxi on August 8.
BJ's Wholesale, the members-only warehouse retailer, added around 2.5% after it was upgraded to a buy from neutral by Goldman Sachs.
Aircraft maker Boeing avoided a sharp drop, only slipping 0.5% despite one of its planes being involved in another malfunction.
This time an engine cover on a Southwest Airlines flight came off minutes after it took off, leading to regulators launching yet another investigation into its aircrafts.
8.29am: US stocks to open flat
US stocks are on course to start the week flat having suffered a pullback from 2024's rally during the first week of the second quarter.
Today, the Dow Jones is on track to open 11 points higher at 39,232, while the S&P500 and Nasdaq are flat at 5,254 and 18,303 respectively.
Despite the index sliding backwards last week, it ended on a positive note, having posted stronger-than-expected jobs data, highlighting a resilient economy and growth in corporate earnings - even if it is at the expense of higher interest rates for longer.
Investors will also be reading through an open letter from JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon, who spoke on topics from global economics to the power of shareholder advisors.
Of course, he spoke on AI too, arguing that the tech "has the potential to augment virtually every job, as well as impact our workforce composition."