1.55pm: Chip stocks remain tasty
The Nasdaq 100 remained buoyant in afternoon exchanges, trading 0.6% higher at 18,657 as of 2pm.
Top movers among the tech-heavy index included the gamut of chipmaking firms, including Nvidia, Applied Materials, Marvell Technology, Micron and Qualcomm.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, on the other hand, was down 0.3% to 39,890, while the broader S&P 500 index was off intraday highs but remained 09.2% higher at 5,312.
12.09pm: Nasdaq hits new record
The Nasdaq 100 was up 0.6% at midday on Monday, bringing the tech-heavy index to a new all-time high of 18,663.
Stocks were up across the board, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading at 40,021 and the broader S&P 500 index up 0.35% to 5,321.
Nvidia’s pending earnings (scheduled for Wednesday) sent semiconductor stocks into a frenzy, with Applied Materials, Microchip Technology, Qualcomm and Micron joining Nvidia as the top risers.
9.45am: DJIA retreats
The Dow Jones has retreated from its record high achieved at the close last week but semiconductor names are driving the Nasdaq higher.
The Dow is down 79 points or 0.20%, with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) down 1.4%, Home Depot and Honeywell International both down 1.1% to lead the blue-chip fallers.
Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 is up 0.19% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 0.52%, with NVIDIA ahead of its results midweek and fellow chip group AMD both up 2.3% as two of the big drivers of the gains, while the seven largest companies in the index are all in green.
A big faller in the tech-heavy exchange is China's Li Auto, after first-quarter vehicle sales missed forecasts as deliveries of its first pure electric car fell short of the company's targets.
It reported vehicle sales totalling 24.25 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) for the first three months of the year, up 32% but short of the 26.71 billion yuan analysts expected.
7.51am: Wall Street to open higher
US stocks are set to join European markets and open the week higher, following on from the highs reached at the end of last week.
But after the Dow Jones last week saw the index break through the 40,000 barrier for the first time right at the close, Dow futures are roughly flat.
Gains will be led by the tech-powered Nasdaq 100, with futures pointing to a 0.3% gain, ahead of a 0.2% increase for S&P 500 futures.
Last week, in addition to the Dow 40k, the S&P took back 5300, while Nasdaq 17k "remains elusive" says Kenny Polcari at Kace Capital Advisors.
The tech index, he says, "needs to gain 1.8% to get us to that number – with many betting this will be the week – why? Think NVDA! [Earnings] are due out on Wednesday after the bell….and the sense is that they are going to crush it again…that they can’t make their chips fast enough and AI is the story."
There’s very little in the way of major economic data releases this week, notes market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation, although there are a stack of speeches due from Fed speakers, starting today.
Wednesday is a biggie, with minutes from the FOMC’s last meeting as well as Nvidia's earnings.
There are still a few earnings from major retailers coming up, Morrison notes.
"Last week, Walmart released a strong set of results and the stock rallied sharply taking it to all-time highs and helping to lift the Dow above 40,000. But Home Depot was a disappointment. Retail sales were flat, so it will be useful to hear what the remaining retailers have to say about their outlook for the rest of the year."
The earnings season has proved broadly supportive, with FactSet data showing 93% of S&P 500 constituents have now reported and 78% have beaten expectations on earnings-per-share, while 60% have beaten on revenues.
"Current earnings growth is at its best levels since the second quarter of 2022, although P/E ratios suggest that stocks are expensive, running above both their 5 and 10-year averages," he adds.