Following a robust upward trend last week, the stock market displayed a rather subdued performance on Monday. Despite an optimistic start, the major indexes mostly plateaued for the rest of the day.
The major indices ended the day on a mixed note. The Nasdaq rose by 47.37 points or 0.3% to 16,388.24, while the S&P 500 marginally dropped by 1.26 points or less than 0.1% to 5,221.42 and the Dow slightly slipped by 81.33 points or 0.2% to 39,431.51.
The stock market's initial surge was owed to a continuation of the recent upward momentum, which resulted in an eight-day winning streak for the Dow. Renewed hope for a potential interest rate slash by the Federal Reserve in the upcoming months also attributed to this rise.
However, investors' interest slowly waned throughout the day due to the anticipation of key inflation data that could significantly affect the rate outlook. The Labor Department is set to publish its reports on producer and consumer price inflation on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
Economists predict that producer prices will increase by 0.3% in April, slightly more than the 0.2% increase in March, while the yearly growth rate is expected to reach 2.2%, a little higher than the 2.1% in the previous month.
Consumer prices, on the other hand, are anticipated to match the 0.4% rise they recorded in March. Core consumer prices, which exclude fluctuating food and energy prices, are also projected to rise but a little less than in March, from 0.4% to 0.3%. The yearly rates of consumer and core consumer price growth are expected to slightly decrease to 3.4% and 3.6% respectively.
In addition, this week will also see remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as well as reports on retail sales, industrial production, and housing starts.
Among the individual stocks, GameStop (GME) significantly soared due to a post from "Roaring Kitty", a social media persona whose recent post boosted the video game retailer's stock. Website building company Squarespace (SQSP) also surged after it announced a definitive agreement for a private all-cash transaction worth approximately $6.9 billion.
Most sectors exhibited minor movements, contributing to the idle broader market closing. However, airline stocks significantly soared with the NYSE Arca Airline Index surging by 2.5%. American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) notably gained after HSBC started covering their stocks with Buy ratings.
On the other hand, housing stocks experienced a decline throughout the session, pulling down the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index by 1.0%.
In the international front, Asia-Pacific region had mixed performances on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index marginally fell while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.8%. European markets, however, modestly declined.
In the bond market, treasuries modestly rebounded after last Friday's decline, pulling down the yield on the benchmark ten-year note by 2.3 basis points to 4.481%.
Looking ahead, the focus on Tuesday will be on the Labor Department's report on producer price inflation and Powell's moderate discussion with De Nederlandsche Bank President Klaas Knot.
