Note: Figures recorded at 7:45am AEDT. The closing figures and video recording will be available at 9:00am AEDT.
Stocks rose Monday as the market maintained the momentum seen during its seven-week winning streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15 points, or 0.04%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.57%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.77%.
The broader index is now a little more than 1% away from its all-time closing high at 4,796.56 that was reached in January 2022.
Communication services outperformed in the S&P 500, with the sector up more than 2%. Mega-cap tech names led those gains. Meta Platforms gained more than 3%, while Google-parent Alphabet jumped more than 2%.
Apple has decided to halt sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United States due to a patent dispute related to the blood oxygen feature technology. This decision follows an order by the US International Trade Commission in October, which raised the possibility of barring Apple from importing its Apple Watches due to patent infringement claims by medical technology company Masimo.
US Steel shares surged 26% after Japan’s Nippon Steel said it would buy the company in a deal valued at $14.9 billion.
The S&P 500 is coming off its longest string of weekly gains since 2017. The broad market index is up by more than 3% for the month. The Dow is higher by more than 3%, and the Nasdaq has gained more than 4%. The Dow also posted an intraday record on Friday, while the Nasdaq 100 registered a new closing high.
Investor sentiment took a positive turn last week after the Federal Reserve indicated three short-term interest rate cuts are expected in 2024 amid cooling inflation. Treasury yields dropped, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling below the 4% level.
In commodity-related news, oil prices increased by over 1% on Monday due to disruptions in shipping caused by attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. BP also announced a suspension of shipping through the Suez Canal in response to these attacks by militants in Yemen.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE added 0.50 per cent, Frankfurt fell 0.6 per cent, and Paris closed 0.37 per cent lower.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.64 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.97 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.40 per cent lower.
The Australian share market closed 0.22 per cent lower at 7,426.36
Ex-dividends
Kelly Partners Group (ASX:KPG) is paying 0.4392 cents fully franked
Dividends payable
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX:ALL)
Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX:IPL)
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG)
Infratil Ltd (ASX:IFT)
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
