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The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Monday as investors flocked to technology and consumer discretionary shares, after the Federal Reserve’s dovish stance on tapering its monetary stimulus last week. Meanwhile, the Dow closed lower and officials began to tally up damage from Hurricane Ida which has now weakened to a tropical storm.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 55.96 points, or 0.2%, to close at 35,399.84. The blue-chip Dow was weighed by a decline in financial and energy stocks. Bigwigs like The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) and The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV - Free Report) closed at least 1.6% lower.
The S&P 500 rose 19.42 points, or 0.4%, to end the session at a record high of 4,528.79 on Monday. The broader index hit an intraday record high of 4,537.36 and seven of the 11 major sectors closed in the green, led by a 1.2% rally in the real estate sector. However, the financials sector declined 1.5% as bank stocks reacted to falling bond yields. Shares of Capital One Financial Corporation (COF - Free Report) declined 6% and Wells Fargo & Company (WFC - Free Report) and American Express Company (AXP - Free Report) closed at least 2.6% lower.
The energy sector closed 1.2% lower as investors assessed the damage from Hurricane Ida slamming into the gulf coast. Ida was pegged as the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the country but has now weakened to a tropical storm. Energy stocks closed lower as oil and gasoline futures rose slightly on Monday.
The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at a record high of 15,265.89, after adding 136.39 points, or 0.9%. The rally in tech shares helped the index set an intraday all-time high of 15,288.08. PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL was the highest gainer, shares of the company rose 3.6% after it reported exploring the development of a stock-trading platform for its U.S. customers. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) and IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (IDXX - Free Report) were among the highest gainers closing at least 2.7% higher for the session. IDEXX Laboratories carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Yesterday, the fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 1.2%, to close at 16.19. The S&P 500 posted 77 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 153 new highs and 34 new lows. A total of 8.77 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 8.95 billion.
Tech Rally on Fed’s Dovish Stance
On Monday, investors piled into stocks associated with the economic growth, especially technology and consumer discretionary shares. Stock-market gains were majorly due to Fed’s dovish stance, after Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed will be tapering monthly purchases of $80 billion of Treasurys and $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities beginning this year, however, the timetable remained vague. Additionally, Powell said that inflation will be temporary and signaled that interest rate increase is far away.
The rally pushed the S&P 500 to achieve its 53rd record close and the Nasdaq book its 32nd record finish of the year. The S&P 500 technology sector closed 1.1% higher on Monday. Tech giants like Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) closed 3.04% higher yesterday, followed by Facebook, Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) that gained 2.2%. Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NFLX - Free Report) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) also closed 1.3% higher for the session.
Pending Home Sales Tumbled in July
The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that pending home sales dipped 1.8% in July after declining 2% in June (revised downwardly). The index that measures real-estate transactions where a contract was signed for a previously-owned home now declined 8.5% from the same period last year. Regionally, only the West recorded a 1.9% monthly increase, while the Northeast experienced the largest monthly decline, a 6.6% drop.
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Stock Market News for Aug 31, 2021
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Monday as investors flocked to technology and consumer discretionary shares, after the Federal Reserve’s dovish stance on tapering its monetary stimulus last week. Meanwhile, the Dow closed lower and officials began to tally up damage from Hurricane Ida which has now weakened to a tropical storm.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 55.96 points, or 0.2%, to close at 35,399.84. The blue-chip Dow was weighed by a decline in financial and energy stocks. Bigwigs like The Boeing Company (BA - Free Report) and The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV - Free Report) closed at least 1.6% lower.
The S&P 500 rose 19.42 points, or 0.4%, to end the session at a record high of 4,528.79 on Monday. The broader index hit an intraday record high of 4,537.36 and seven of the 11 major sectors closed in the green, led by a 1.2% rally in the real estate sector. However, the financials sector declined 1.5% as bank stocks reacted to falling bond yields. Shares of Capital One Financial Corporation (COF - Free Report) declined 6% and Wells Fargo & Company (WFC - Free Report) and American Express Company (AXP - Free Report) closed at least 2.6% lower.
The energy sector closed 1.2% lower as investors assessed the damage from Hurricane Ida slamming into the gulf coast. Ida was pegged as the fifth-strongest hurricane to ever hit the country but has now weakened to a tropical storm. Energy stocks closed lower as oil and gasoline futures rose slightly on Monday.
The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at a record high of 15,265.89, after adding 136.39 points, or 0.9%. The rally in tech shares helped the index set an intraday all-time high of 15,288.08. PayPal Holdings, Inc. PYPL was the highest gainer, shares of the company rose 3.6% after it reported exploring the development of a stock-trading platform for its U.S. customers. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) and IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (IDXX - Free Report) were among the highest gainers closing at least 2.7% higher for the session. IDEXX Laboratories carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Yesterday, the fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 1.2%, to close at 16.19. The S&P 500 posted 77 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 153 new highs and 34 new lows. A total of 8.77 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 8.95 billion.
Tech Rally on Fed’s Dovish Stance
On Monday, investors piled into stocks associated with the economic growth, especially technology and consumer discretionary shares. Stock-market gains were majorly due to Fed’s dovish stance, after Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed will be tapering monthly purchases of $80 billion of Treasurys and $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities beginning this year, however, the timetable remained vague. Additionally, Powell said that inflation will be temporary and signaled that interest rate increase is far away.
The rally pushed the S&P 500 to achieve its 53rd record close and the Nasdaq book its 32nd record finish of the year. The S&P 500 technology sector closed 1.1% higher on Monday. Tech giants like Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) closed 3.04% higher yesterday, followed by Facebook, Inc. and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) that gained 2.2%. Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NFLX - Free Report) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) also closed 1.3% higher for the session.
Pending Home Sales Tumbled in July
The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that pending home sales dipped 1.8% in July after declining 2% in June (revised downwardly). The index that measures real-estate transactions where a contract was signed for a previously-owned home now declined 8.5% from the same period last year. Regionally, only the West recorded a 1.9% monthly increase, while the Northeast experienced the largest monthly decline, a 6.6% drop.