The Nasdaq composite rose 0.2% on Monday to a record, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to another all-time high as investors headed into a week packed with earnings and a Federal Reserve decision. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 62 points, with the gains in technology helping offset pressure elsewhere.
The Nasdaq added 50.50 points to 24,887.10, and the S&P 500 rose 8.83 points to 7,137.91. The Dow fell 62.92 points to 49,167.79. Traders also pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.33% from 4.31% late Friday, a move that reflected a market still weighing higher rates even as stocks kept climbing.
The rise came as oil prices jumped more than 2.5% on Monday, with Brent crude for June delivery climbing 2.8% to settle at $108.23 and July delivery rising 2.6% to $101.69 per barrel. That added another layer of concern to a rally already driven by strong corporate profit reports and hopes the economy can avoid the worst-case effects of the war. Tankers were still finding the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, keeping crude stuck in the Middle East.
The market has spent much of the recent move building on a rebound that began after the S&P 500 hit a low in late March and later jumped 13% from that point. Monday’s advance kept that recovery intact even as oil and bond yields moved in ways that usually make investors more cautious.
The week ahead could decide whether the rally has more room to run. Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft are scheduled to report on Wednesday, Apple is due on Thursday, and the Federal Reserve is expected by traders to leave the federal funds rate steady when it announces its latest move on Wednesday. Verizon Communications added another note of encouragement by saying it added more postpaid phone customers than it lost in the first quarter for the first time since 2013 and raised its forecast for profit growth this year. Domino’s Pizza was the day’s sharp laggard, falling 8.8% after reporting weaker profit and revenue than analysts expected.
The question for investors is no longer whether the market can keep climbing after the latest records. It is whether the coming earnings from the biggest names in technology, plus the Fed’s signal on rates, will justify the gains or leave the market exposed to a harder turn.
