In a positive turn of events, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite experienced gains on Monday, buoyed by a notable rally in certain chipmaker and technology stocks. Specifically, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose by an impressive 1.2%, reaching 19,865 points, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to settle at 5,975.4.
Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average faced a slight dip, falling by 0.1% to 42,706.6. Among the sectors, communication services emerged as the leader, gaining 2.1%, whereas real estate observed the largest decline. In noteworthy company developments, Hon Hai Precision, widely recognized as Foxconn, reported a staggering 42% year-over-year increase in revenue for December.
This substantial growth highlights the strength of the electronics sector. Shares of Micron Technology (MU) showed remarkable performance, increasing nearly 11% on Monday, making it the best performer on the S&P 500 and the second-best on the Nasdaq. Super Micro Computer ($SMCI) followed closely, securing the position of second-top gainer on the S&P 500 with a rise of 9.4%.
On the Nasdaq, MicroStrategy ($MSTR) claimed the top-performing title, with ASML ($ASML) and Arm ($ARM) also making significant strides. Nvidia ($NVDA) led the way on the Dow, experiencing a substantial uptick of 3.4%. In legal news, United States Steel ($X) and Japan's Nippon Steel have jointly filed a lawsuit contesting President Joe Biden's decision to block their merger deal, which has consequently sent US Steel shares skyrocketing by 8.1%. Meanwhile, Walt Disney ($DIS) has reached an agreement to merge its Hulu + Live TV business with FuboTV ($FUBO).
This merger will provide Disney with a commanding 70% stake in its streaming peer and help to resolve litigation related to the proposed Venu Sports venture. Following the announcement, Disney shares experienced a marginal decline of 0.1%, while FuboTV’s shares surged dramatically by 251%. On a different note, Axon Enterprise ($AXON) and Palantir Technologies ($PLTR) each saw their shares drop 5.1% and 5%, respectively, marking them as the worst performers on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq for the session. Turning to market indicators, the US 10-year yield shifted upwards, gaining 1.7 basis points to reach 4.61%.
Conversely, the two-year rate dropped by 1.7 basis points, settling at 4.26%. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook advocated for monetary policymakers to exercise a more cautious approach regarding interest rate cuts. She emphasized the significant progress made in disinflation but acknowledged that further efforts are necessary to reach the inflation target of 2%. In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil saw a slight decrease of 0.7%, trading at $73.46 a barrel.
Economic reports indicated that the US services sector experienced expansion, hitting a 33-month high last month, as new orders surged at the fastest pace since March 2022. According to S&P Global ($SPGI), the robust performance of the service sector paves the way for a promising start to 2025. However, given the strength of this growth, cautious policy moves are expected from decision-makers concerning interest rate adjustments. In precious metals trading, gold dipped 0.3% to $2,645.70 per troy ounce, while silver managed to rise by 1.3%, closing at $30.46 per ounce..