Written by Sinéad Carew and Ankika Biswas
(Reuters) – The S&P 500 edged higher on Monday afternoon after Friday's closing highs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, ahead of a week packed with economic data and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony.
The S&P 500 Communications Services Index was the weakest sector in the benchmark, while Defensive Utilities was the sector that gained the most.
Apple fell 2.4% following a $2 billion EU antitrust fine for preventing Spotify and other music streaming services from informing users of payment options outside the App Store. Stocks that performed well included Nvidia, which rose 5.9% after its market cap closed above $2 trillion for the first time on Friday.
Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investments, said investors will be looking ahead to key monthly data on Monday, including services sector data due Tuesday and nonfarm payrolls due Friday. He said he was preparing to gain insight into the health of the U.S. economy. Institute.
Wren said that while “the market is still trying to understand the outlook for the economy, earnings and the Federal Reserve,” both institutional and retail investors have seen stocks set new records. He pointed out that he was worried about missing out on opportunities.
“There are institutional investors who can't afford to sit on their books and watch the S&P 500 go up every day, and individual investors are starting to fear that they're missing out,” Wren said. “There is,” he said. “Stock prices are high, but that doesn't mean they won't rise before some pullback occurs. Momentum moves the market, and positive thinking moves the market.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.64 points, or 0.02%, to 39,079.74, the S&P 500 rose 10.8 points, or 0.21%, to 5,147.88, and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 8.05 points, or 0.05%, to 16,283.00.
The Nasdaq started March with a new intraday high on Friday, but ended at the same all-time high for the second day in a row as an artificial intelligence-driven rally in tech stocks continues to grab attention on Wall Street. Ta.
The S&P 500 index has also been on a winning streak recently, rising more than 21% for four consecutive months through February. BofA Global Research raised its year-end target for the benchmark index to 5,400 from 5,000, which would represent 5% upside from current levels.
Powell is scheduled to testify before lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday, and analysts expect him to maintain a wait-and-see stance on policy given the recent rise in inflation.
AI server maker Super Microcomputer rose 23.7%, and shoe maker Deckers Outdoor rose 3% ahead of its inclusion in the S&P 500 index.
Macy's rose about 14% after real estate investment firms Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management raised their bids for the department store chain.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining issues by a ratio of 1.03 to 1. On the Nasdaq, a 1.27-to-1 ratio favored declining stocks.
The S&P 500 has recorded 104 new highs and 8 new lows in 52 weeks. The Nasdaq Composite Index recorded 180 new highs and 87 new lows.
(Reporting by Sinead Kalu in New York and Ankika Biswas and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Aurora Ellis)