Yahoo Finance Stock market news live updates: Dow bounces off fresh record but tech rebounds; AMC roars
Wall Street rallied on Monday, with the broader market setting marginal new highs and technology shares recovering lost ground, as investors struggled to balance economic optimism against steadily rising Treasury yields.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by over 100 points and the S&P 500 Index also inched to a new high, bolstered by the signing of a new $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that's poised to spur consumer spending and ignite economic growth. Most Americans are poised to receive $1,400 stimulus checks, which began arriving over the weekend, and Wall Street economists have already begun hiking their gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the remainder of the year, amid expectations that the stimulus will unleash a consumer rebound.
Still, Washington's aggressive spending spree, and super-accomodative monetary policy, has focused growing attention on runaway deficit spending — which is at least part of the reason why government borrowing costs have begun to spike, even as the Federal Reserve remains committed to fostering growth through lower yields and higher inflation.
Last week, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield spiked to a pre-pandemic high around 1.6%, up about 50 basis points in a month. Another warning sign has emerged via Bitcoin (BTC-USD), where prices over the weekend topped $60,000, a new record high before paring those gains on Monday.
In a note to clients, analysts at Oppenheimer underscored that "government bond prices tend to suffer as economies exit a recession, while equities tend to benefit from an improvement in economic growth that is expected in a recovery, and which can be reflected in revenue (sales) and earnings (profit) growth for businesses."
The firm added: "As the exit process from the pandemic moves ahead notwithstanding normal speed bumps and setbacks typical when exiting a major crisis—more will be revealed as to how efficient or inefficient the latest tranche of rescue stimulus will be in getting the economy over the hurdles that lie ahead."
On Friday, Goldman Sachs economists projected that the fiscal rescue package would give the economy even greater impetus in 2021, estimating gross domestic product would expand by 6% in the first quarter. For that reason, markets will closely watch remarks this week from Fed Chair Jerome Powell for hints about whether the central bank is growing concerned about moves in the bond market, and an economy that could overheat.
However, Goldman noted that "Fed officials are unlikely to see much of a problem [with rising rates] at a time when financial conditions remain easy, activity is picking up, and powerful growth impulses are set to support the economy all year."
Meanwhile, technology stocks have underperformed the broader market, as the gradual reopening of states and localities — and a COVID-19 mass vaccination effort that's gathering steam — has encouraged investors to rotate out of so-called "stay at home" trades favoring big names like Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB). Soaring interest rates has amplified volatility across the tech sector, amid expectations of higher borrowing costs weighing on growth companies.
On the vaccine front, President Joe Biden announced that around 100 million people will have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the next few days. The news contrasted sharply against events in Europe, where the continent's mass inoculation efforts have been hampered by supply and execution issues. On Monday, Germany, France and Italy all paused their use of AstraZeneca's (AZN) vaccine, on concerns it could be tied to blood clots.
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4:02 p.m. ET: Dow, S&P end at new records in whipsaw session, tech stocks rebound
Here were the main moves in markets as of 4:02 p.m. ET:
S&P 500 (^GSPC): +25.43 (+0.64%) to 3,968.77
Dow (^DJI): +173.64 (+0.53%) to 32,952.28
Nasdaq (^IXIC): +139.84 (+1.05%) to 13,459.71
Crude (CL=F): -$0.27 (-0.41%) to $65.34 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$9.50 (+0.55%) to $1,729.30 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -2.8 bps to yield 1.6070%
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3 p.m. ET: Stocks creep back toward highs
As the final hour of trading begins, all of the major indexes are in the green during a quiet and directionless session. The Dow briefly lapsed into the red but is now inching back toward 33,000, while the Nasdaq has shaken off its earlier weakness, but investors don't appear to have any real conviction to either the upside or downside.
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1 p.m. ET: Tesla's 'Technoking'
Ever the showman with a cheeky sense of humor, Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk announced odd title changes on Monday that raised eyebrows, Yahoo Finance's Julia Laroche reports.
Musk will now hold the title “Technoking of Tesla" following the electric car maker’s foray into Bitcoin and the digital asset's stunning surge, the company revealed in a rather unusual 8-K filing on Monday:
“Effective as of March 15, 2021, the titles of Elon Musk and Zach Kirkhorn have changed to Technoking of Tesla and Master of Coin, respectively. Elon and Zach will also maintain their respective positions as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer,” according to the filing.
Investors, at least, seem to like the change: Tesla's stock — which took a drubbing last week — is up over 1% in midday trading above $703.
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12:20 p.m. ET: Stocks struggle for direction, Dow bounces off new highs
Here's where markets were trading Monday afternoon:
S&P 500 (^GSPC): 3,939.05, -4.29 (-0.11%)
Dow (^DJI): 32,751.19, -27.45 (-0.08%)
Nasdaq (^IXIC): 13,344.21 +24.35(+0.18%)
Crude (CL=F): $65.57 per barrel, -0.04 (-0.06%)
Gold (GC=F): $1,728.40 per ounce, +8.60 (+0.50%)
10-year Treasury (^TNX): down 0.3 basis points, yielding 1.60
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10:55 a.m. ET: The rich (companies) are getting richer, IMF finds
The COVID-19 pandemic has entrenched the market power of big firms (hello FAANG) in a way that could hamper innovation and future investment, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The global body said in new research that power is being concentrated among big players as a market shake-out of bankruptcies caused competition to fall away.
"Due to the pandemic, we estimate that this concentration could now increase in advanced economies by at least as much as it did in the 15 years to end of 2015," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a blog post accompanying the paper.
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10:47 a.m. ET: Dow, Nasdaq trade places
The broader market is now underwater but tech stocks are staging a recovery in early U.S. dealings. The Dow had opened to the upside and set a marginal new record, but investors appear to be taking some of those profits off the table.
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10:10 a.m. ET: The global reflation trade is heating up energy prices
An increasingly familiar refrain over the last several weeks has been the price of gas, which has crept steadily toward $3 per gallon on average. Consumers, now flush with stimulus cash, are grousing over the rising cost of filling up their cars — and they should look no further than crude (CL=F), which fell on Monday but is up over $20 year-to-date.
In a morning note to clients, Bank of America expects Brent to hover around current levels, but notes that "prices may soon test supply/demand elasticities, so a sustained rally may have to wait for demand to recover more broadly."
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9:45 a.m. ET: AMC jumps on news CA theaters will reopen
One of the crown jewels in the meme stock trade, AMC, is spiking by nearly 20% in early dealings — but this time because of fundamental reasons. With lockdowns in California gradually easing, AMC is preparing to reopen nearly all of its 56 locations in the Golden State this week. The Wall Street Bets retail traders that crowded into the stock have sent it on a tear, up a staggering 426% this year through Friday’s close.
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9:31 a.m. ET: Stocks rally at the open: Dow flirts with 33K
Here's where markets were trading Monday morning after the opening bell:
S&P 500 (^GSPC): 3,945.80, +2.46 (+0.06%)
Dow (^DJI): 32,869.72, +91.08 (+0.28%)
Nasdaq (^IXIC): 13,315.81, -4.06(-0.03%)
Crude (CL=F): $65.57 per barrel, -0.04 (-0.06%)
Gold (GC=F): $1,728.40 per ounce, +8.60(+0.50%)
10-year Treasury (^TNX): flat, yielding 1.6350
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8:30 a.m. ET: Manufacturing sector flexes muscle
The Empire State manufacturing survey's rose, checking in at a better-than-expected 17.4 in March. Peering deeper into the data, economists noted a mixed outlook from survey participants as shipments rose but new orders and employment moderating.
According to JPMorgan's Daniel Silver:
The recent firming in the survey is broadly consistent with the idea that the manufacturing sector is picking up as the drag from COVID-19 fades, although the broad set of survey data looks mixed and the link between the surveys and hard activity readings is loose. We will be getting additional March business survey data in the coming days and weeks.
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7:30 a.m. ET Monday: Stock futures point to a mixed open as tech stocks drop
Here's where markets were trading Friday morning:
S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,947.00, +4.75 (+0.12%)
Dow futures (YM=F): 32,858.00, +86.00 (+0.26%)
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 12,954.75, +21.25 (+0.16%)
Crude (CL=F): $65.57 per barrel, -0.04 (-0.06%)
Gold (GC=F): $1,728.40 per ounce, +8.60(+0.50%)
10-year Treasury (^TNX): flat, yielding 1.6350
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Javier David is an editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow Javier on Twitter: @TeflonGeek
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