The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) notched a record close while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended the day just below a record high in Monday's session. Yahoo Finance Reporter Josh Schafer joins Asking for a Trend to discuss his takeaways from the trading day.

First, he points to the continued broadening of the market as a major trend. Energy (XLE), financials (XLF), and industrials (XLI) all led the market's rally while tech (XLP) came in just shy of the S&P 500 over the last five days.

Next, the Russell 2000 (^RUT) hit its highest level since 2022. As more economic data points to cooling inflation, confidence grows in the potential for a September rate cut, giving small caps a boost.

Finally, the economy is showing signs of overall moderation. As June's retail sales report is set to be released on Tuesday, Wall Street is expecting sales to fall about 0.2%. Schafer explains that if the print comes in line with expectations, it would serve as yet another data point showing that the economy is responding to higher interest rates. This would also give the Federal Reserve more confidence in initiating an interest rate cut.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Asking for a Trend.

This post was written by Melanie Riehl