US close: Stocks end final session of wild month on a positive note
Wall Street stocks recorded gains on Monday but the S&P 500 failed to avoid delivering its worst monthly performance since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.17% at 35,131.86, while the S&P 500 was 1.89% stronger at 4,515.55 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 3.41% firmer at 14,239.88.
The Dow closed 406.39 points higher on Monday, building upon solid gains for the major indices recorded on Friday as a rollercoaster week drew to a close on a positive note.
While the day was fairly quiet in terms of market-moving headlines, Monday's moves come ahead of a stacked week for both economic data and earnings reports from a number of the US' largest names in tech.
December's nonfarm payrolls report, which the Biden administration previously cautioned could be heavily impacted by surging Covid-19 cases on account of the Omicron variant, will be published on Friday, while Alphabet, Starbucks, Meta Platforms, Amazon and more will all report earnings before the week is out.
In focus throughout the session, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ticked slightly higher to 1.780%.
On the macro front, the Chicago purchasing manager's index increased to 63.1 in December from 61.8 a month earlier to beat market expectations of 62, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Production increased to its highest reading since July 2021, while new orders rebounded and inventories hit a four-year high as firms created buffers for longer lead times, while prices paid fell to a seven-month low.
Elsewhere, the Dallas Fed's January manufacturing index moderated in January, with the index falling to 16.6 on the month versus 26.0 in December.
In the corporate space, US software maker Citrix has agreed to be bought by affiliates of Elliott Investment Management and Vista Equity Partners for $16.5bn in cash. Under the terms of the deal, Citrix shareholders will receive $104.00 per share. This is a 30% premium to the price on 7 December, which was the last trading day before speculation about a deal and a 24% premium to the price on 20 December, which was the last trading day prior to media reports about a potential bid from Vista and Evergreen.
Tech darlings Netflix and Spotify shares both recorded double-digit gains after being on the receiving end of upgrades from analysts Citi.
Dow Jones - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $200.24 5.07%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $232.63 4.73%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $142.97 3.13%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $174.78 2.61%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.82 2.28%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $354.68 2.21%
3M Co. (MMM) $166.02 1.79%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $139.81 1.67%
American Express Co. (AXP) $179.82 1.56%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $148.07 1.48%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $49.76 -1.39%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $227.14 -0.87%
Visa Inc. (V) $226.17 -0.80%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $133.57 -0.69%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $59.73 -0.52%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $166.18 -0.38%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $160.45 -0.03%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.67 0.11%
S&P 500 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $427.14 11.13%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $193.55 8.77%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $114.25 8.56%
NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) $78.12 7.75%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $77.51 7.32%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $244.86 7.21%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $154.60 7.11%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $220.74 7.04%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $295.80 6.69%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $494.96 6.68%
S&P 500 - Fallers
L3Harris Technologies Inc. (LHX) $209.29 -4.29%
Kellogg Co. (K) $63.00 -3.46%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $101.99 -3.37%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $68.87 -3.14%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $52.69 -3.02%
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $369.90 -2.71%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $608.59 -2.61%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $106.51 -2.53%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $16.42 -2.09%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $126.11 -2.03%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $427.14 11.13%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $936.72 10.68%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $159.74 9.02%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $193.55 8.77%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $74.89 8.00%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,132.06 7.96%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $77.51 7.32%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $103.36 7.22%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $244.86 7.21%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $7.03 6.76%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $101.99 -3.37%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $608.59 -2.61%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $17.51 -1.44%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $49.76 -1.39%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $227.14 -0.87%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $92.99 -0.72%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $35.80 -0.69%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $34.22 -0.61%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $75.33 -0.49%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $108.17 -0.44%