In the trading session on Monday, stocks initially surged before retracting some gains throughout the day. However, they closed mostly in positive territory, with all major indices ending higher following mixed performances in the preceding sessions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 273.17 points, or 0.7%, closing at 42,387.57. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 48.58 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 18,567.19, and the S&P 500 increased by 15.40 points, or 0.3%, settling at 5,821.52.
Wall Street's positive momentum was partly driven by a sharp decline in oil prices. Oil plunged after Israel's retaliatory strike against Iran over the weekend spared the country's energy infrastructure.
Investors are also anticipating significant U.S. economic reports scheduled for later in the week. Key among these is the monthly employment report and data on personal income and spending, which will include the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metrics. Additional reports on third-quarter GDP, consumer confidence, pending home sales, and manufacturing sector activity are also likely to garner attention.
The incoming economic data could shape expectations regarding the pace at which the Federal Reserve might ease interest rates. Moreover, corporate earnings will be under scrutiny, with major companies like Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Intel (INTC), McDonald's (MCD), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT), and Pfizer (PFE) set to release their quarterly results.
Sector Highlights
Airline stocks demonstrated considerable strength, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring 3.0% to reach its highest closing level in over a year. Notably, Delta Air Lines (DAL) achieved significant gains after initiating a lawsuit against CrowdStrike (CRWD) concerning the July outage that resulted in widespread flight cancellations.
Steel stocks also experienced notable gains, as evidenced by a 3.0% rise in the NYSE Arca Steel Index. Financial, computer hardware, and biotechnology stocks showed robust performance as well, whereas energy stocks declined along with the drop in crude oil prices.
International Markets
In Asia, stock markets were mostly on the rise on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 1.8%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index increased by 0.7%.
European markets followed suit, with the French CAC 40 Index up 0.8% and both the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and Germany's DAX Index rising by 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries continued their pullback, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note climbing 4.6 basis points to reach a three-month closing high of 4.278%.
Looking Ahead
Tuesday's trading activity may be influenced by investor reactions to the latest U.S. economic data releases, which include reports on consumer confidence and job openings.
