US Stocks Rise, S&P500 and Nasdaq Post New All-Time Highs

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Key Takeaways

• Stocks push higher, led by gains in technology companies, S&P500, Nasdaq post-closing records
• Futures on Tuesday were higher by about 0.3% as the upbeat mood continues

Stocks Rise Further

Equities in the US rose on Monday, a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reaffirmed the US central bank will pursue a balanced approach to the world’s largest economy.

The S&P500 chugged to another record high in its stellar performance so far this year. The broad-based benchmark added 19.42 points, or 0.43%, to 4,528.79. The index logged its 53^rd record close of the year and has gained 21% year-to-date.

The S&P500 is on pace to end August with its best performance in the first eight months of a calendar year since 1997. In August, before the final day of trading, the blue-chip stock gauge is higher by 3%, looking to wrap up its seventh straight month of gains.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 136.39 points, or 0.90%, on Monday to finish the session at 15,265.89. The technology-heavy stock average was powered by solid gains in big tech companies. Apple added $4.52, or 3.04%, to a close of $153.12. Tesla shares advanced $18.99, or 2.67%, to $730.91.

Meme Stocks Strike a Chord With Investors

Shares of Facebook and Amazon rose 2.15% each. Meme stocks were also favored by market participants. GameStop added 2.07% to $209.20, while AMC Entertainment gained 6.10% to $43.33 a share.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped moderately by 55.96 points, or 0.16%, to finish Monday’s trading at 35,399.84.

Traders and investors piled into shares of technology giants, health care companies, the real estate sector, and communication services. Most of the S&P500 sectors were in the green.

Market participants felt largely comfortable increasing their bets on the risky assets following Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that even if the central bank decided to tighten its monetary stimulus, an increase in interest rates would arrive at a much later time.

US Stocks tied to the economic reopening were among the laggards on Monday as concerns about the Delta virus spread weighed on economically sensitive sectors such as banks, oil and gas companies, and travel and leisure shares.

JPMorgan Chase shares declined 1.6%, while Wells Fargo shares fell 2.8%.

Coronavirus Variant Concerns

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic appears to still be highly active across the US. On Monday, official data showed that the US-registered 280,403, bringing the seven-day average to a seven-month high of 158,946. The seven-day rate of confirmed cases has been moving higher for the past two months while the latest figure of daily cases approached the peak of 300,777 registered on January 8.

The vaccination campaign in the US has been ticking up recently. The number of administered doses per day has almost doubled over the past couple of months to an average of 898,000 vaccine doses per day. Daily vaccinations are still more than 70% lower than the peak of 3.38m reported on April 13.

In Europe, Delta virus jitters and inflation concerns kept a lid on equities on Monday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.1%, while the German DAX gained 0.2%. The UK market was closed for the summer bank holiday.

US futures on Tuesday were considerably higher ahead of the opening bell in New York. Dow futures, Nasdaq futures, and S&P500 futures pointed to a higher open by about 0.3% each.

Bitcoin on Tuesday remains pressured after it ended Monday’s action in the red. The flagship cryptocurrency is now gravitating toward the $47,000 area, lower by about 3% on the day so far.