Stocks ended mixed Monday, as investors looked to a key week of jobs data that could define the market's near-term interest rate forecasts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 25.57 points, or 0.06%, to end the day at 42,706.56, after rising as high as 383 points earlier in the session.
The S&P 500 gained 0.55% to close at 5,975.38, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.24% to finish at 19,864.98.
Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist for Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, said the firm remains technically bullish on the weekly trends for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
“The indices traded in wide ranges last week, with a 2.05% weekly range for SPX and a 2.68% range for NDX,” Tentarelli said. “We view the last two weeks as traditional holiday weeks and expect to get a better read on any potential sector rotations this week.”
He added that current technical leaders are technology and communication services, while semiconductors, the energy sector and renewable power/nuclear were leaders last week.
“Investors should pay attention to market leaders over the first 5-10 trading days of the year, as a strong start can indicate a potential rotation,” Tentarelli said.
Updated at 1:07 PM EST
Big 3
The U.S. Treasury kicked-off the first of three coupon bond auctions slated for this week with a $58 billion sale of new 3-year notes that drew solid demand from domestic investors but a pullback from foreign buyers.
The sale drew overall bids worth around $152 billion and a so-called bid-to-cover ratio of 2.62, just ahead of the 2.58 level recorded last month and the six-auction average of 2.59.
Indirect bidders, which are comprised mostly of foreign central banks, took down 60.98% of the sale, down from the 64.2% level in December and the six-auction average of 66.4%.
The paper was last trading at 4.317%, around 2 basis points south of the high yield of the auction high yield of 4.332%
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares were a notable laggard in early trading, falling 1.8% to $78.48 each following a bearish initiation of coverage from Morgan Stanley analyst Sanjit Singh.
Singh, who assumed coverage of the stock this year after it was dropped by the bank in November, pegged his price target at $60 a share and assigned an 'underweight' rating to the Denver-based group.
The S&P 500 was marked 62 points, or 1.03% higher in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq rising 302 points, or 1.5%
The Dow was last marked 176 points higher while the mid-cap Russell 2000 rose 18 points, 0.8%.
Updated at 9:05 AM EST
Nvidia jump
Nvidia shares are powering higher ahead of CEO Jensen Huang's speech to the Consumer Electronics Show later today in Las Vegas, with an added boost from a record quarter posted by its key supply chain partner.
Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision, said December-quarter revenues rose 15.2% from last year to an all-time high of $64.7 billion, thanks in part to heightened demand for AI servers.
"Even with record high revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024, the sequential performance of the first quarter will reach roughly similar levels that are average to the past five years; compared with a year ago, it should show significant growth," the group said in a statement.
Nvidia shares were last marked 2.9% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $148.54 each.
Updated at 7:47 AM EST
Targeted tariffs?
The Washington Post reported Monday that President-elect Donald Trump is likely to impose targeted, rather than blanket, tariffs on imported goods when he assumes office later this month.
The report added to the downward pressure on the U.S. dollar index, which was last marked 0.88% lower at 108.072. And it boosted stock futures as investors factored-in weaker inflation pressures from a tariff strategy focused on goods that are tied to national security interests.
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 1.26% to snap its longest losing streak since April and putting the benchmark into positive territory for the month as the so-called Santa Claus Rally failed to materialize with stocks ending around 0.5% lower from their closing levels the day before Christmas Eve.
Bond markets are likely to be the key focus on Wall Street this week, with around $119 billion in coupon auctions expected from the U.S. Treasury, including a sale of $39 billion in 10-year notes, as well as a spate of labor-market readings for the final months of the year.
The Labor Department will cap those off Friday with its December employment report, where economists are expecting to see 150,000 new hires and a headline jobless rate of 4.2%.
A hotter-than-expected reading, particularly with respect to wages, could stoke renewed inflation concerns and push Treasury yields, which are already testing eight-month highs, further into recently uncharted territory.
Bond markets will be a key focus on Wall Street this week as the Treasury looks to conduct $119 billion in three coupon auctions ahead of Friday's December jobs data.
Benchmark 10-year notes were last marked at 4.614% heading into the start of the New York trading session, with 2-year paper trading at 4.328%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was marked 0.31% lower at 108.612, although much of the movement was tied to a surge in the Canadian dollar.
The loonie was last marked 0.54% higher at 1.437 following reports that embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will resign early this week.
On Wall Street, tech stocks are once again pacing the early advance, with Nvidia (NVDA) rising 1.9% ahead of a keynote address from CEO Jensen Huang later in the day and Microsoft (MSFT) rising 1.1% on reports it will spend another $80 billion on new data centers as part of its AI investment efforts.
Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is now up just over 1% for the month, are priced for a 24-point opening-bell gain while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average suggest a 5-point dip. The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 155 points higher.
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 slipped 0.11% in Frankfurt following disappointing economic activity data for the month of December, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower in midday London trading.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 reopened for the first time in 2025 with a 1.47% decline, while China stocks slumped to a four month low on renewed concerns for the health of the world's second-largest economy.
