US close: Major indices put on mixed performance as Biden renominates Powell for Fed head
Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday as market participants digested news that Joe Biden had renominated Jerome Powell as the head of the Central Bank.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.05% at 35,619.25, while the S&P 500 was 0.32% weaker at 4,682.95 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.26% softer at 15,854.76.
The Dow closed just 17.27 points higher on Monday, doing very little to reverse losses recorded in the previous session.
The main item drawing investor attention on Monday was news that President Joe Biden had renominated Jerome Powell for chief of the Federal Reserve Bank.
Powell, who was initially appointed by Donald Trump and started his first term in 2018 and helped backstop the market during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, will now be in charge of wrapping up the most consequential revamp of monetary policy since the 1970s.
Bank stocks and Treasury yields both moved higher following the White House's decision.
Also in focus, Covid-19 headlines from across the pond weighed on sentiment, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel warning that the European nation was witnessing a spike in cases, while a drop in Netflix and Etsy shares hurt the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.
On the macro front, the Chicago Federal Reserve's national activity index rose to 0.76 in October, up from -0.18 in September as all four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index made positive contributions.
Elsewhere, US existing home sales rose unexpectedly in October to their highest level since the beginning of 2021, indicating healthy demand was still present as a heightened level of buyers looked to take advantage of strong job growth and low mortgage rates. Contract closings grew 0.8% month-on-month to an annualised print of 6.34m, according to the National Association of Realtors, ahead of economists' expectations for a print of 6.2m.
In terms of earnings, Jack in the Box and Zoom Video were both slated to report their latest quarterly numbers after the close.
Dow Jones - Risers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $157.19 3.06%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $54.71 2.74%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $397.36 2.57%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $58.81 2.57%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $164.76 2.39%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $114.10 1.96%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $144.99 1.83%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.62 1.48%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $81.69 1.23%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $202.54 1.05%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Visa Inc. (V) $195.93 -2.46%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $159.74 -1.93%
Boeing Co. (BA) $210.51 -1.69%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $202.92 -1.53%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $297.64 -1.17%
American Express Co. (AXP) $171.57 -1.14%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $340.93 -0.64%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $438.46 -0.35%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $174.45 -0.25%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $119.54 5.93%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $20.50 5.70%
Kroger Co. (KR) $42.95 5.04%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $20.96 4.85%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $39.18 4.79%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $94.60 4.29%
Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $72.42 3.98%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $92.94 3.96%
American International Group Inc. (AIG) $57.04 3.80%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $105.95 3.70%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $25.27 -6.27%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $21.47 -5.15%
Mastercard Incorporated (MA) $322.58 -5.05%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $39.14 -4.86%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $126.32 -4.59%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $661.62 -4.44%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $95.70 -4.36%
Copart Inc. (CPRT) $146.23 -4.05%
Gartner Inc. (IT) $323.03 -3.44%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $407.98 -3.41%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $94.60 4.29%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $88.78 2.79%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $54.71 2.74%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $28.74 2.61%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $28.60 2.47%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $15.84 2.29%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $57.22 2.15%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $1,161.06 2.11%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $197.70 1.77%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $19.59 1.63%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,318.25 -5.92%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $126.32 -4.59%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $661.62 -4.44%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $95.70 -4.36%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $88.06 -3.81%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $276.29 -3.60%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $827.41 -3.47%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $407.98 -3.41%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $311.96 -3.27%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $8.26 -3.11%