U.S. stocks closed higher for the second straight day on Monday, led by a tech rally, following a volatile week of trading, as investors awaited key economic data and earnings reports from a fresh batch of companies. All three major indexes ended in positive territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose less than 0.1% or 20.20 points, to end at 50,135.87, after closing above the 50,000 mark for the first time in the previous session.
The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, or 32.52 points, to finish at 6,964.82 points. Tech, materials and communication services stocks were the biggest gainers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) rose 1.6%. The Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) and Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) added 1.3%, while the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) gained 1%. Seven out of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.9%, or 207.46 points, to close at 23,238.67 points.
The fear gauge, CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was down 2.25% to 17.36. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.13-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.51-1 ratio favored advancing issues. A total of 17.78 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 20.66 billion.
On the Nasdaq, there were 165 new 52-week highs and 127 new lows. On the S&P 500, there were 63 new 52-week highs and 20 new lows.
Tech stocks continued their rally for the second straight session on Monday after seeing an AI-sparked selloff for most of last week. Investors regained faith in the high-valuation tech names, while several flocked to buy the dip.
Oracle Corporation (ORCL) was the big gainer for the second consecutive day, with its shares surging 9.6%. Also, shares of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) rose 2.5%, while Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) jumped 5.2%. Palantir has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Markets have recovered in the past two days, but the Nasdaq is still 3% below its record closing high achieved in November. The S&P 500 is nearing its all-time closing high of 6978.60 reached on Jan. 27.
Investors are now looking forward to the release of some important economic data, including the consumer price index (CPI) and the Retail Sales reports, scheduled for release later this week.
The earnings season is in full swing, and a slew of big names like The Coca-Cola Company (KO) and Ford Motor Company (F) are set to report their quarterly results.
