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Stock market news for May 21, 2024
U.S. stocks finished mixed on Monday, with the Dow Jones pulling back after closing above the 40,000-point mark last week and the Nasdaq finishing at a record high, driven by a technology rally as investors tried to gauge the momentum of the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut.
How did the benchmarks perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.5% or 196.82 points to end at 39,806.77.
The S&P 500 added 0.1% or 4.86 points, closing at 5,308.13 points. Technology stocks gained the most, while financial stocks performed the worst.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) gained 1.2%, while the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) lost 1.2%. Seven of the benchmark index’s 11 sectors ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 0.7% or 108.91 points to end at 16,794.87.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a fear gauge, rose 1.33% to 12.15. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.14-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.01-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 12.31 billion shares were traded on Monday, higher than the last 20 session average of 11.82 billion.
Tech stocks drive rally led by NVIDIA
Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are expected to be in focus this week as NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) prepares to report its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Optimism around AI over the past year has fueled the tech rally and investors will be looking forward to NVIDIA’s predictions for the next quarter.
NVIDIA shares rose 2.5% on Monday. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see The complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Dow Jones retreated on Monday after closing above the 40,000 mark on Friday. However, the Nasdaq achieved its record ninth this year. Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose 0.6%, while Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) rose 1.2%.
Stocks are coming off a strong week, with the Dow and S&P 500 posting a five- and four-week winning streak, respectively.
A solid earnings season, along with new economic data that showed that inflation finally began to cool in April after rising in the first quarter, has increased optimism that the Federal Reserve will soon begin its rate cuts.
Not much economic data is scheduled to be released this week, but investors will be looking forward to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest FOMC meeting, which will be released on Wednesday.
No major economic data was released on Monday.
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