Stocks finished higher Monday, with the Dow and S&P 500 closing at fresh records, as investors looked to a busy week of earnings and economic data on Wall Street
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 201.36 points, or 0.47% to finish the session at 43,065.22, reaching a fresh record and marking the first time the Dow closed above 43,000.
The S&P 500 rose 0.77% to a record 5,859.85 close and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.87% to end the day at 18,502.69.
The Dow was boosted by McDonald's UnitedHealth Group, and Apple.
Updated at 1:17 PM EDT
Bank on it
Goldman Sachs leads a trio of big bank earnings scheduled for just prior to tomorrow's opening bell, with Bank of America and Citigroup also reporting third quarter updates.
Goldman is likely to see a 25% increase in its third quarter bottom line, which is forecast at $6.89 per share, thanks in part to a surge in investment banking fees.
Citigroup and Bank of American, meanwhile, will likely post modest earnings declines when compared to last year, with investors looking keenly at the lenders' forecasts for net interest income and loan delinquency rates heading into the final months of the year.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) , as well as UnitedHealth Group (UNH) , will also publish third quarter updates before the opening bell.
$GS running sprint ahead of earnings tomorrow's morning. Likely retrace to 512 by end of week. $JPM result was boosted by net interest income. For GS, no retail banking. But GSAM and Trading revenue would offset.
— optionGeek (@StockShark16) October 14, 2024
Option premium go down once earning is out.
Our AI Model… pic.twitter.com/2OEFLktpQg
Updated at 12:16 PM EDT
Happy Anniversary
The current bull market, which began in earnest in early October of 2022, passed a two-year milestone this weekend as one of the strongest on record, with the S&P 500 up more than 62.5% over the past 24 months.
"Perhaps renowned investor John Templeton said it best: 'Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria,'", said LPL Financial's chief technical strategist, Adam Turnquist. "And roughly two years ago, it is clear a bull market was born."
Related: The S&P 500's 2-year rally faces big tests
Updated at 10:42 AM EDT
Dow goes green
The Dow has turned higher into the morning session, hitting fresh intra-day peak of 42,918.60 points thanks in part to gains for Microsoft, Apple and IBM (IBM) .
The S&P 500 was last marked 41 points, or 0.73% higher with the Nasdaq up 182 points, or 1%.
$SPY +68% last 2 years (through this morning) pic.twitter.com/WkpaWJb9Ia
— Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT 🍖 (@MikeZaccardi) October 14, 2024
Updated at 9:43 AM EDT
Record open
The S&P 500 hit a fresh record peak, and was last marked 23 points, or 0.4% higher, in the opening minutes of trading, while the Nasdaq gained 133 points, or 0.73%,
The Dow, meanwhile, slipped 103 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 index edged 5 points, or 0.24% lower.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Oct. 14, 2024)$SPY +0.33%🟩$QQQ +0.58%🟩$DJI -0.23%🟥$IWM +0.02%🟩 pic.twitter.com/XiC0UykCF2
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) October 14, 2024
Updated at 9:13 AM EDT
Nvidia roars
Nvidia shares powered higher again Monday, putting the stock within 5% of the market cap of Apple (AAPL) , following a price target boost from Goldman Sachs tied to its hammerlock on the market for AI chips and processors.
Nvidia, which has added around $780 billion in market value since early September, overtook Microsoft MSFT as the world's second-most valuable company last week.
Shares in the group were marked 1.3% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $136.54 each.
Related: Goldman Sachs analyst updates Nvidia stock price target as AI grip tightens
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended higher last week, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a fresh all-time peak following a stronger-than-expected start to third quarter earnings season offset some worrying consumer and factory gate inflation data.
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JPMorgan (JPM) had its strongest gain in more than 18 months, rising 4.44% on the session, after it topped Wall Street's earnings forecasts on the back of solid investment banking revenues and higher interest rate fees.
Bank earnings will be back in focus this week as Goldman Sachs (GS) , Citigroup (C) , Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) report third quarter updates over the next three days.
All told, around 41 S&P 500 companies will post earnings updates this week, with LSEG data suggesting collective profits will rise 4.9% from last year to around $511 billion.
The Commerce Department will also publish its official reading for September retail sales Thursday, with housing starts data for the same month set for the following day.
Bond markets will remain closed for today's Columbus Day holiday, but stocks will trade through a regular-hours session.
Related: S&P 500's bull run looks tough
Global oil prices were moving firmly lower following a weekend briefing from China's Finance Minister Lan Fo’an on the government's stimulus plans, which failed to deliver on spending details.
Brent crude contracts for December delivery, the global pricing benchmark, were last marked $1.76 lower at $77.30 per barrel, while WTI contracts for November were marked $1.81 lower at $73.75 per barrel.
On Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 are priced for a modest 6 point opening bell gain. The index is up 21.9% for the year amid its best 10-month gain since 1997.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, is called 33 points lower from Friday's record high of 42,863.86 points while the tech-focused Nasdaq is set for a 30 point gain amid early advances for Tesla (TSLA) and Nivdia (NVDA) .
Stocks on the move include Caterpillar (CAT) , which is down 2.25% following a downgrade to underweight from Morgan Stanley, and Meta Platforms (META) , which rose 0.4% following a price target boost from Goldman Sachs.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Analysts update Meta stock price target with Q3 earnings in focus
- Analysts update outlook for Nvidia's Blackwell chips amid AI boom
- Analyst reboots Reddit stock price target ahead of earnings
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 benchmark was marked 0.01% lower in early Frankfurt trading in a relatively muted session, while Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.12% in London.
Overnight in Asia, China stocks booked solid gains following the weekend briefing from China's Fo’an on the government's stimulus plans. But a lack of detail on the dollar amounts it plans to commit kept broader gains in check, with the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rising 0.1% into the close of trading.
Japan's Nikkei 225, meanwhile, was closed for the country's traditional October Sports Day holiday.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
