US close: Stocks mixed as investors turn to Jackson Hole

dl wall street wall st new york city nyc new york stock exchange nyse dow jones industrial average nasdaq subway platform sign unsplash — Sharecast / Martin Ceralde via Unsplash

Stocks on Wall Street closed in a mixed fashion on Monday, rebounding somewhat after hitting two-month lows in the prior week.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had shed a modest 0.11% to end the session at 34,463.69, while the broader S&P 500 index saw an uptick of 0.69% to 4,399.77.

Leading the way among the primary indices, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.56% to settle at 13,497.59.

On the currency front, the dollar was last down 0.01% against sterling at 78.38p, while it edged down 0.02% on the common currency to trade at 91.76 euro cents.

The greenback also dipped slightly against the yen, by 0.03% to change hands at JPY 146.18.

“European stock indices wiped out most of their early Monday morning gains as US investors turn towards Fed chair Jerome Powell's Friday speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, and await second quarter earnings by Zoom and Nvidia,” said IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph earlier.

“The People's Bank of China's underwhelming 10-basis point interest rate cut of its one-year loan prime rate to 3.45% did little to investor confidence, with US long-dated yields rising to levels last seen in 2008 and the greenback sticking to its upward trajectory.”

People’s Bank of China announces moderate rate cut, focus shifts to Fed conference

On the economic front, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) earlier rolled out a modest rate cut, opting for a 10 basis points reduction to set the one-year loan prime rate at 3.45%.

That fell short of the broader market prediction of a 15 basis points cut.

Adding to the surprises, the five-year loan prime rate - a significant influence on mortgage prices - remained static at 4.20%.

That stagnation is particularly noteworthy given that financial analysts were banking on a 15 basis point reduction there as well, especially in the wake of the medium-term loan rate decrease just a week prior.

“The underwhelming LPR announcement strengthens our view that the PBoC is unlikely to embrace the much larger rate cuts that would be required to revive credit demand,” said analysts at Capital Economics.

“Hopes for a stimulus-led turnaround in economic activity largely depend on the prospect of greater fiscal support.”

On American shores meanwhile, anticipation was building around the upcoming Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole conference, set to span from Thursday to Saturday.

The finance world was all ears after last week’s FOMC meeting minutes instigated a surge in 10-year Treasury yields, pushing them to their highest levels in 15 years.

Palo Alto Networks soars while AMC and Nikola face declines

In equities, cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks surged 14.84% after it surpassed expectations with its quarterly earnings report released after Friday's closing bell.

On the downside, AMC Entertainment Holdings faced a sharp decline of 23.72% ahead of its contentious stock conversion strategy.

Under the plan, AMC was set to transition its preferred equity units into common stock, alongside a reverse 10-for-one stock split.

Similarly, electric truck maker Nikola Corporation dropped 22.96% as it unveiled updates to its voluntary battery-related recall covering more than 200 vehicles.

Adding to the pressure, Nikola divulged plans to issue $325m in senior convertible bonds through a direct offering.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $209.03 2.05%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $321.88 1.71%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.14 1.19%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $175.84 0.77%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.44 0.73%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $142.28 0.62%
Visa Inc. (V) $239.43 0.54%
American Express Co. (AXP) $160.88 0.41%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $109.64 0.40%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $149.48 0.34%