Amidst a frenzied market, Wall Street kicked off the week with a bullish stride, as major U.S. indices painted a green picture during midday trading on Monday, reflecting investor optimism in the AI-driven stocks’ growth trajectory.
The S&P 500 flexed its muscles, surging close to 1%, while the tech-centric Nasdaq 100 exhibited even more vigor, leaping 1.3% over the coveted 18,000-point milestone. Blue-chip equities showed a modest rise of 0.4%, with small-cap stocks witnessing a slight dip in their performance.
The day was marked by a buzz around the potential AI collaboration between tech titans Alphabet Inc. GOOGL and Apple Inc. AAPL, as discussed within.
Investor attention was also fixated on Nvidia Corp.’s tech extravaganza at the annual GPU Technology Conference (GTC 2024) on Monday. Anticipation brewed as analysts and industry experts awaited insights into the unveiling of the highly anticipated next-gen AI chip.
Meanwhile, Treasury yields aggressively climbed, with the 10-year note eclipsing 4.33%, aiming to close the day at levels unseen since late November 2023.
In a parallel dance, oil prices continued their bullish advance, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude edging up by 1.4% to flirt with the $82 per barrel mark.
Bitcoin BTC/USD witnessed a 2% descent to $67,000, while gold timidly tiptoed up by 0.2% to $2,160/oz.
Performance Snapshot: Major US Indices and ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-Day Chg% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 18,037.86 | 1.3% |
| S&P 500 | 5,165.42 | 0.9% |
| Dow Jones | 38,906.01 | 0.5% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,044.23 | -0.1% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY soared 0.8% to $513.59, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA marched 0.4% higher to $388.30, while the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ surged 1% to $438.11, per Benzinga Pro’s data.
On the sectoral turf, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC took the lead, soaring by 1.8%, while the Real Estate Sector SPDR Fund XLRE lagged behind, shedding 0.2%.
Stock Trailblazers of the Day
- Tesla Inc. TSLA saw a staggering 6% surge, emerging as the standout performer in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, fueled by the news of price hikes for its Model Y in the U.S. and Europe.
- PepsiCo Inc. PEP climbed over 4%, riding high on a bullish forecast from Morgan Stanley analysts, predicting an uptick in sales through the year.
- HashiCorp Inc. HCP surged over 6% amidst reports of a potential company sale.
- Science Applications International Corp. SAIC tumbled nearly 10% after falling short of earnings projections.
- Shift4 Payments Inc. FOUR plummeted by 9% following comments by its CEO indicating dissatisfaction with buyout offers valuing the company inadequately.
- Post-market earnings are awaited from Embraer S.A. ERJ and StoneCo Ltd. STNE.
Dive deeper: Fed Meeting Preview: These 2 Wall Street Analysts Still Expect 3 Cuts In 2024, But Bond Market Reflects Growing Uncertainty
Image created using artificial intelligence with Midjourney.
