US close: Stocks finish higher as states begin easing lockdowns

Wall Street stocks finished in the green on Monday, as market participants reacted to news that several US states were already eyeing a phased reopening of economic activity

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 1.51% at 24,133.78, the S&P 500 added 1.47% to 2,878.48, and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 1.11% at 8,730.16.

It was a positive session throughout, with the Dow having opened 226.37 points higher, continuing Friday's rally driven by Donald Trump signing off on another $484bn economic rescue package.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that he planned to reopen the state's economy in various phases, with the first involving the construction and manufacturing sector heading back to work.

As part of Cuomo's second phase, firms will need to put into place plans for a re-opening that would include social distancing practices and adequate personal protective equipment.

The southern state of Georgia also began reopening its economy on Friday, allowing gyms, hair salons and tattoo shops to begin serving customers again, while Alaska, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas also began to allow restaurants and other establishments to serve customers.

CMC Markets' David Madden pointed out that there was "a feeling in the markets that things are starting to go back to normal, albeit at a very slow pace".

However, gains were somewhat kept in check by another drop in oil prices, with West Texas Intermediate last down 32.34% at $12.80 per barrel.

On the macro front, Texas factory activity declined further in April, according to business executives responding to the Dallas Federal Reserve's manufacturing activity index.

The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, pushed further negative from -35.3 to -55.3, suggesting the contraction in output has steepened since last month.

In corporate news, the coming week was set to be the busiest so far this earnings season, with the likes of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Boeing, Exxon Mobil, Intel and Tesla all reporting over the next five days.

“This week marks the beginning of perhaps the most important four days in the first quarter earnings season, with over a quarter of the S&P 500 reporting,” said IG analyst Joshua Mahony.

“With big hitters across tech, travel, energy, and manufacturing all due to shed light on their coronavirus experiences, we will finally have a much better idea of exactly how this crisis has affected USA Inc.

“Markets have been very focused on future prosperity over current suffering, and thus it is likely that market sentiment will be guided heavily by corporate outlooks rather than just the short-term impact of the temporary lockdown measures.”

On Monday, shares in Tesla rose 10.15% after a report from Bloomberg suggested the electric carmaker had asked some workers at its California plant to prepare to return to work by next week.

Aluminium sheeting giant Arconic was ahead 13.81% even after it warned shareholders of a 12% fall in first quarter revenue to $1.6bn.

General Motors reversed earlier losses to rise 2.28%, after confirming the suspension of its dividend and share repurchase programme in a bid to shore up cash.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $106.06 4.81%
3M Co. (MMM) $153.65 4.52%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $94.62 4.31%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $183.54 3.69%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $83.98 3.13%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $89.71 3.10%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.78 2.97%
Visa Inc. (V) $171.76 2.65%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $217.76 2.63%
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $65.07 2.59%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $117.45 -1.12%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $128.30 -0.88%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $154.29 -0.37%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $174.05 -0.29%
Boeing Co. (BA) $128.68 -0.23%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.81 -0.21%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $283.17 0.07%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $59.47 0.35%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $43.94 0.48%

S&P 500 - Risers

Kohls Corp. (KSS) $18.60 17.72%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $47.64 15.18%
Arconic Inc. (ARNC) $9.15 13.81%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $20.27 13.62%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $7.78 12.90%
Macerich Co (MAC) $6.74 12.90%
L Brands Inc (LB) $11.50 11.54%
Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG) $57.19 11.07%
Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $66.72 10.67%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $39.47 10.62%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $5.44 -13.24%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $7.72 -4.24%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $547.52 -3.30%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $163.47 -3.00%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $10.02 -2.81%
Wisconsin Energy Corp. (WEC) $91.52 -2.40%
CMS Energy Corp. (CMS) $58.00 -2.36%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $25.00 -2.19%
Apache Corp. (APA) $10.50 -1.78%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $4.85 -1.62%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $798.75 10.15%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $82.77 8.04%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $8.02 8.01%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $80.27 7.69%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $90.83 6.25%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $212.47 6.14%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $43.09 5.90%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $85.27 5.65%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $49.51 5.09%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $54.86 4.71%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $547.52 -3.30%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $10.02 -2.81%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $125.93 -1.52%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $2,376.00 -1.42%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $51.03 -1.37%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $187.50 -1.35%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $208.09 -1.15%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $88.81 -1.04%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $421.38 -0.85%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $264.41 -0.85%