FX.co ★ U.S. Stocks Close Higher; Nasdaq Outperforms

U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, with technology shares delivering a solid performance. Initially, the major averages experienced a weak start amid subdued trading, gradually gaining strength and moving into positive territory as the session progressed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 50.66 points, or 0.13%, ending at 39,169.52. The S&P 500 advanced by 14.61 points, or 0.27%, to 5,475.09. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq climbed by 146.70 points, or 0.83%, to close at 17,879.30.

Investors are keenly anticipating the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday. Expectations suggest a slowdown in job growth for June, which could influence the future outlook for interest rates.

On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported an unexpected contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity for June. The ISM's manufacturing PMI decreased slightly to 48.5 from 48.7 in May, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Economists had anticipated the index would rise to 49.1.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department revealed a slight decrease in U.S. construction spending for May. Construction spending edged down by 0.1% to an annual rate of $2.140 trillion, following a 0.3% increase to a revised rate of $2.142 trillion in April. Economists had expected a 0.1% increase in construction spending.

Among individual stocks, Microsoft Corporation shares rose by approximately 2.2%, Apple Inc. climbed nearly 3%, and Amazon surged by 2%. Nvidia and Alphabet also posted modest gains. Tesla Inc. saw an impressive rise of over 6%, ahead of its second-quarter delivery numbers expected on Tuesday.

Other notable gainers included JP Morgan Chase, Eli Lilly, Oracle Corporation, Merck, Wells Fargo, T-Mobile, Verizon Communications, Morgan Stanley, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Nike, and Boeing, all of which recorded gains of 1% to 3%.

Conversely, ADP, Analog Devices, Honeywell International, Blackstone, Uber Technologies, Comcast Corporation, Caterpillar, Walt Disney, Home Depot, Procter & Gamble, and Advanced Micro Devices finished notably lower.

In overseas markets, the Asia-Pacific region saw mostly higher trading on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index inching up by 0.1% and China's Shanghai Composite Index advancing by 0.9%.

European markets also made gains during the session. The pan-European Stoxx 600 climbed by 0.32%, Germany’s DAX gained 0.3%, France's CAC 40 rose by 1.09%, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up by 0.03%.