U.S. equity benchmarks ended the Monday session in positive territory as strength in Technology, Industrials and Consumer Services names helped lift major indexes.
At the close on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.83%. The S&P 500 increased 1.01% and the NASDAQ Composite gained 1.22%.
On the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the top performers included Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM), which climbed 2.86% - a gain of 5.51 points - to finish at 198.34. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) added 1.96%, or 4.07 points, to settle at 211.74, and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 1.71% - 3.58 points - to close at 213.47.
Conversely, the laggards on the Dow included Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), down 0.80% or 0.41 points to 50.97 at the close. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) declined 0.67%, a 1.01-point drop to 149.95, while Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) slipped 0.63% or 0.63 points to end at 98.66.
Within the S&P 500, Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) was the best performer, up 6.43% to 114.37. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH) rose 5.14% to close at 19.84, and Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) gained 5.11% to finish at 286.21.
The weakest S&P 500 members by session performance were The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS), which fell 5.60% to 27.67, CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF), down 5.59% to 122.33, and CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD), which lost 4.06% to close at 423.84.
On the NASDAQ Composite, the session's biggest percentage increases were recorded by ClearSign Combustion Corporation (NASDAQ:CLIR), which surged 905.77% to 4.36, Urgent.ly Inc (NASDAQ:ULY), which climbed 164.53% to settle at 5.37, and HCW Biologics Inc (NASDAQ:HCWB), which rose 76.03% to close at 0.92.
By contrast, the steepest declines on the NASDAQ were posted by Paranovus Entertainment Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:PAVS), down 70.75% to 0.47 in late trade, Lyra Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:LYRA), which lost 62.50% to finish at 0.50, and Cycurion Inc (NASDAQ:CYCU), off 37.58% to close at 1.03.
Market breadth showed more advancing issues than decliners. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,835 stocks rose while 902 fell and 82 finished unchanged. On the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2,102 issues gained, 1,254 declined and 193 were unchanged.
Several small-cap names moved to new lows during the session. Shares of Paranovus Entertainment Technology Ltd (NASDAQ:PAVS) fell to all-time lows, losing 70.75% or 1.14 to 0.47. Lyra Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:LYRA) also reached an all-time low, down 62.50% or 0.82 to 0.50, and Cycurion Inc (NASDAQ:CYCU) fell to an all-time low as well, dropping 37.58% or 0.62 to 1.03.
Volatility, as measured by the CBOE Volatility Index, moved lower; the VIX fell 13.53% to 23.51.
Commodities prices were mixed to softer. Gold Futures for April delivery declined 0.89%, losing 45.21 to $5,016.49 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for May delivery fell 4.18% or 4.05 to $92.79 a barrel, while the May Brent contract decreased 2.71% or 2.80 to trade at $100.34 a barrel.
In currency markets, EUR/USD rose 0.78% to 1.15, and USD/JPY fell 0.39% to 159.11. The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.54% at 99.57.
Summary
Major U.S. indexes closed higher on Monday, driven by gains in Technology, Industrials and Consumer Services. Notable individual movers included substantial percentage increases in several small-cap NASDAQ stocks and sharp declines in a handful of names that hit all-time lows. Commodities and the dollar were generally weaker, and the VIX fell.
Key points
- Major indexes rose: Dow +0.83%, S&P 500 +1.01%, NASDAQ +1.22%.
- Large-cap winners included CRM, AMZN and BA; retail and cruise names led S&P gains with DLTR and NCLH among top performers.
- Commodities and the dollar weakened: gold, crude oil and Brent all fell; EUR/USD and USD/JPY moved with EUR/USD higher and USD/JPY lower.
Risks and uncertainties
- Extreme volatility in small-cap and biotechnology stocks - several NASDAQ-listed names posted very large percentage moves and multiple issues fell to all-time lows, indicating episodic risk in that segment of the market.
- Commodity price declines - drops in crude oil and gold prices could introduce near-term uncertainty for energy and materials sectors.
- Currency fluctuations - moves in EUR/USD and USD/JPY could affect multinational companies and exporters sensitive to foreign exchange.