(New York) The New York Stock Exchange closed slightly higher on Monday, continuing its momentum at the end of the week, which allowed the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 to set new records for the second session in a row.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.36%, a new all-time high, just above 38,000 points for the first time at 38,001.81 points.
The technology-dominated NASDAQ advanced 0.32% to 15,360.29 points. And the S&P 500 (+0.22%), which had surpassed a two-year record on Friday, reached a new high at 4850.43 points.
“The market continued last week’s upward momentum,” commented Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital. “This is going to be an important week with two major indicators at the end of the week, the growth of gross domestic product in the fourth quarter and the PCE inflation index”, the preferred barometer of the American central bank (Fed) to judge the price evolution.
For growth, forecast for Thursday, analysts are banking on an expansion of 2% at an annual rate in the second quarter.
In addition, a flood of company results will be released this week. Tuesday saw Johnson and Johnson, General Electric, Procter and Gamble, Lookeed Martin and Netflix among others. Tesla is expected on Wednesday.
United Airlines, which published after the market closed the forecast of a loss from January to March due to grounded Boeing 737 MAX 9s, closed down 0.95%. However, the title gained more than 6% in electronic trading after the market closed.
On Monday, the index of major leading indicators showed a decline to -0.1% in the United States, on 21e in a row in December, but much lower than previous months and better than analysts’ forecasts.
“This goes in the direction of a soft landing for the economy” of the United States and “this motivates the market”, assured Peter Cardillo.
Bond rates were down at 4.10% for ten-year bonds compared to 4.12% on Friday around 4 p.m. (Eastern time).
On the side of American monetary policy, “the members of the Federal Reserve (Fed) are now subject to their usual period of silence” before the monetary decision of January 31, recalled Will Compernolle, of FHN Financial.
On the value front, Boeing held steady (-0.04%) despite requests from the regulator, the FAA, to inspect new Boeing aircraft, the 737-900erafter the incidents observed on the sealed doors of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 with a very similar design.
This announcement follows the incident that occurred on January 5 during an Alaska Airlines flight during which a door came loose from the cabin of a Boeing 737 MAX 9.
The Macy’s store chain soared 3.52% to $18.25 after rejecting a $5.8 billion buyout offer from a group of investors.
The department store brand, which is experiencing financial difficulties, confirmed in a statement Sunday evening that it “received an unsolicited proposal” from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management to acquire all of the company’s shares for $21 per share in cash.
US agricultural commodities giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) collapsed 24.49%. The trading company has suspended its chief financial officer, placing him on administrative secondment, pending the results of an SEC investigation into accounting methods used in the group’s Nutrition business.
US budget airlines Spirit (+19.39%) and JetBlue (+0.20% and +1.80% after the close) were variously sought after filing an appeal to a federal appeals court on Friday against the blocking of their merger project, decided earlier by a Boston judge.
The listed company Digital World Acquisition (DWAC), responsible for carrying out Donald Trump’s social media activities, saw its shares soar 88% to $49.69 after Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and rival of former president for the Republican candidacy in the presidential election, threw in the towel on Sunday.
Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange rose slightly on Monday, while US markets continued to advance after the S&P 500 broke a new record last week.
Toronto’s S&P/TSX Composite Index closed up 17.78 points, or 0.09%, at 20,924.30 points.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 138.01 points, or 0.36 percent, to 38,001.81 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 10.62 points, or 0.22 percent, to 4,850.43 points. The NASDAQ Composite Index rose 49.32 points, or 0.32 percent, to 15,360.29 points.
On the currency market, the Canadian dollar was trading at 74.33 US cents, up from 74.28 US cents on Friday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of crude oil rose by US$1.51 to US$74.76 per barrel, while that of natural gas fell by 13 US cents to 2.13 US$ per million BTUs.
The price of gold fell US$7.10 to US$2,022.20 per ounce and copper lost 2 US cents to US$3.76 per pound.
The Canadian Press