Following last Friday's downturn, stocks rebounded on Monday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 making gains, though the Dow experienced a slight dip by the day's end. Specifically, the Nasdaq advanced by 111.69 points, or 0.6%, reaching 18,791.81, and the S&P 500 rose 23.00 points, or 0.4%, to close at 5,893.62. In contrast, the Dow saw a marginal decline, falling 55.39 points, or 0.1%, landing at 43,389.60.
This recovery on Wall Street was partly driven by bargain hunters seizing the opportunity to acquire stocks at lower valuations following last week's sharp declines. These declines were sparked by apprehensions surrounding future interest rates and uncertainty regarding President-elect Donald Trump's proposed policies and cabinet choices.
Despite the rebound, buying enthusiasm was somewhat restrained as traders anticipated the upcoming quarterly earnings report from Nvidia (NVDA), a significant player in AI and a market influencer. Nvidia is set to release its fiscal third quarter results post-market on Wednesday.
In economic news, the National Association of Home Builders reported a significant surge in homebuilder confidence for November, exceeding expectations. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 46, up from 43 in October, surpassing economist predictions of a rise to 44. This marks the index's highest point since reaching 51 in April.
Sector Analysis
The session saw a pronounced rally in gold stocks, evidenced by a 4.2% increase in the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index, driven largely by a notable rise in gold prices. Computer hardware stocks also exhibited considerable strength, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index climbing 2.8%. Super Micro Computer (SMCI) led this sector's upward movement following a Barron's report suggesting the company plans to submit a strategy to prevent its delisting from Nasdaq. Additional gains were observed in natural gas, steel, and oil sectors, while airline stocks faced notable declines.
Global Markets Overview
Asian-Pacific markets showed mixed results on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index declining by 1.1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.8%. European markets similarly presented mixed outcomes; Germany's DAX Index fell by 0.1%, France's CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.1%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6%.
In the bond market, U.S. treasuries rebounded from early losses to close modestly higher, causing the yield on the benchmark ten-year note to decrease by 1.4 basis points, reaching 4.414% after an earlier peak of 4.491%.