US close: Stocks little changed but Dow ekes out another record close
US stocks ended little changed overall on Monday as weakness in the technology sector offset strong financials, although the Dow closed at a record high as investors continued to mull president-elect Donald Trump’s economic policies of deregulation, lower taxes and increased infrastructure spending.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up just 0.1% to 18,868.6 - its third record close in a row - the S&P 500 ended flat and the Nasdaq slipped 0.4%.
CMC Markets’ Jasper Lawler said: “There was a clear divergence in the tech-heavy Nasdaq where FANG stocks came under renewed selling pressure.
“Tech stocks like Facebook and Netflix won’t get any government contracts in a rise in infrastructure spending but Chinese expansion plans are at risk by possible trade tariffs.”
Meanwhile, Treasury bonds were under pressure, with the yield on the 10-year bond trading at its highest level since early January amid worries that Trump’s policies with be inflationary, causing the Fed to hike rates sooner than expected. Bond yields move inversely to prices.
Oil prices settled a little higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.9% at $43.78 a barrel and Brent crude up 0.1% at $44.78.
In corporate news, Mentor Graphics surged after German engineer Siemens agreed to buy the company for $4.5bn.
Harman International Industries rocketed as technology giant Samsung said it would acquire the group for $8bn.
Shares in AMC Entertainment edged higher as the company is poised to win approval to buy Carmike Cinemas for $1.2bn, which would make it the largest cinema chain in the world.
Twitter shares rallied after investor Jana partners disclosed that it had over 2.9m shares in the social media company.
On the macroeconomic front, Chinese data released earlier was mixed as the country’s fixed-asset investment was up 8.3% in the January-to-October, ahead of forecasts, but industrial output and retail sales growth in October fell short of expectations.
S&P 500 - Risers
Harman International Industries Inc. (HAR) $109.72 +25.18%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $16.40 +12.71%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $10.75 +9.25%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $27.78 +8.05%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $28.35 +7.22%
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $13.27 +6.59%
AutoNation Inc. (AN) $45.83 +6.33%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $27.32 +5.97%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $444.52 +5.89%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $32.03 +5.71%
S&P 500 - Fallers
PVH Corp. (PVH) $105.68 -5.71%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $83.64 -4.92%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $86.59 -4.86%
C.R. Bard Inc. (BCR) $203.77 -4.44%
Becton, Dickinson & Company (BDX) $162.80 -4.44%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $48.80 -4.33%
Visa Inc. (V) $78.38 -4.27%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $37.77 -4.16%
Medtronic Plc (MDT) $78.75 -4.05%
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $45.02 -3.84%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $152.28 +4.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $79.51 +3.68%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $117.86 +3.19%
American Express Co. (AXP) $72.42 +2.72%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $209.18 +2.57%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $112.18 +1.72%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $94.17 +1.25%
Boeing Co. (BA) $149.99 +0.99%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.17 +0.34%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $97.92 +0.25%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Visa Inc. (V) $78.38 -4.27%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $105.71 -2.51%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $158.21 -1.90%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $127.67 -1.68%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $116.60 -1.58%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $58.12 -1.52%
3M Co. (MMM) $172.91 -1.24%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $50.21 -1.10%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.18 -1.09%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $70.49 -1.04%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $41.34 +7.60%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $28.35 +7.22%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $27.32 +5.97%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $444.52 +5.89%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $32.03 +5.71%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $77.24 +5.25%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $118.89 +4.64%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $45.84 +4.42%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $32.01 +3.66%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $34.93 +3.16%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $217.91 -7.10%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $83.64 -4.92%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $48.80 -4.33%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $37.77 -4.16%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $181.45 -3.77%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $263.14 -3.41%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,489.18 -3.34%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $115.08 -3.31%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $38.81 -3.17%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $53.97 -2.84%