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Wall Street closed mixed on Monday, with consumer discretionaries leading the gains. Oil prices fell with energy becoming a major drag on the markets. Two of the three most widely followed indexes were virtually unchanged, gaining less than 0.1%, while one finished in the red.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 49.41 points, or 0.1%, to close at 40,539.93. Sixteen components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, 13 ended in positive, while one remained unchanged.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 12.32 points, or 0.1%, to close at 17,370.20.
The S&P 500 increased 4.44 points, or 0.1%, to close at 5,463.54. Seven of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) advanced 1.7%, 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) declined 0.9%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 1.3% to 16.60. A total of 10 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.2 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, declining issues led advancers by a 1.84-to-1 ratio.
Markets Display a Holding Pattern Before Fed Meet
Fed officials are widely expected to hold the interest rate at the current level when they meet on Wednesday. Market participants have priced in an outside chance of 4.1% that a rate cut would be announced in July, per the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
However, they expect a clearer signal that there would be a definitive cut in September, and the icing on the cake would be at least another rate cut before the year ended. Monday’s trade reflected that investors were employing a wait-and-watch strategy. Alongside the Fed meet, this week, big tech is slated to start reporting earnings numbers for the second quarter. These numbers would help investors assess whether the recently witnessed stock rotation out of mega-cap tech into small-cap would continue.
Also, very important jobs numbers are slated to be out later this week that would show the state of the labor market. The lack of activity in the stock market on Monday, thus, can be seen as an effort from market participants to hold on to the status quo before shifting course. However, consumer discretionaries scored a winning session, and real estate continued to rise.
Oil Prices Continue to Fall on Developments in the Middle East
On Monday, Israeli officials said that Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but also does not aim to drag the Middle East into an all-out war. This statement comes against the backdrop of Lebanon awaiting Israeli retaliation against a rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Golan Heights. Consequently, Brent crude fell $1.35, or 1.7%, to settle at $79.78/barrel, while WTI crude declined $1.35, or 1.8%, to settle at $75.81/barrel.
No economic data was released on Monday.
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Stock Market News for Jul 30, 2024
Wall Street closed mixed on Monday, with consumer discretionaries leading the gains. Oil prices fell with energy becoming a major drag on the markets. Two of the three most widely followed indexes were virtually unchanged, gaining less than 0.1%, while one finished in the red.
How Did the Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 49.41 points, or 0.1%, to close at 40,539.93. Sixteen components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, 13 ended in positive, while one remained unchanged.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 12.32 points, or 0.1%, to close at 17,370.20.
The S&P 500 increased 4.44 points, or 0.1%, to close at 5,463.54. Seven of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) advanced 1.7%, 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) declined 0.9%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 1.3% to 16.60. A total of 10 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.2 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, declining issues led advancers by a 1.84-to-1 ratio.
Markets Display a Holding Pattern Before Fed Meet
Fed officials are widely expected to hold the interest rate at the current level when they meet on Wednesday. Market participants have priced in an outside chance of 4.1% that a rate cut would be announced in July, per the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
However, they expect a clearer signal that there would be a definitive cut in September, and the icing on the cake would be at least another rate cut before the year ended. Monday’s trade reflected that investors were employing a wait-and-watch strategy. Alongside the Fed meet, this week, big tech is slated to start reporting earnings numbers for the second quarter. These numbers would help investors assess whether the recently witnessed stock rotation out of mega-cap tech into small-cap would continue.
Also, very important jobs numbers are slated to be out later this week that would show the state of the labor market. The lack of activity in the stock market on Monday, thus, can be seen as an effort from market participants to hold on to the status quo before shifting course. However, consumer discretionaries scored a winning session, and real estate continued to rise.
Consequently, shares of Birkenstock Holding plc (BIRK - Free Report) and Hasbro, Inc. (HAS - Free Report) rose 2.3% and 1.3%, respectively. Birkenstock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Oil Prices Continue to Fall on Developments in the Middle East
On Monday, Israeli officials said that Israel wants to hurt Hezbollah but also does not aim to drag the Middle East into an all-out war. This statement comes against the backdrop of Lebanon awaiting Israeli retaliation against a rocket strike that killed 12 children and teenagers in the Golan Heights. Consequently, Brent crude fell $1.35, or 1.7%, to settle at $79.78/barrel, while WTI crude declined $1.35, or 1.8%, to settle at $75.81/barrel.
No economic data was released on Monday.