Stocks rose on Monday as the US economy prepared for a busy week with the release of inflation data early on Tuesday and the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy decision scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
All three major indices were up at the Monday closing bell, with the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) leading advances and up 1.53%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose by 190 points, or 0.56%, while the S&P 500 (GSPC) rose by 0.94%.
The S&P 500 entered a bull market last week and closed at its highest level since August 2022, while the Nasdaq kept up its run of seven consecutive weeks of gains. Monday’s advances followed those developments.
As traders were all fired up to begin a heavy week of economic data, stocks ended the day higher on Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) increased 0.56%, or 189 points, while the S&P 500 (GSPC) rose 0.93%. Gaining 1.53% was the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC). The benchmark S&P 500 ended at its highest level since April 2022 on Monday.
Government bonds also increased in value, with the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note yield trading at 3.73% and the two-year yield at 4.57%, respectively.
Brian Sozzi, executive editor of Yahoo Finance, reports:
At Salesforce’s AI Day in New York City on Monday, the optimism surrounding AI was easy to see after just ten seconds.
Investors, analysts, and members of the media flocked to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to hear CEO Marc Benioff discuss his AI plan. The subject? Salesforce offers trusted generative AI tools for companies.
Benioff spoke to AI as “the most important technology of our time” to the enthusiastic audience.
Shares of Salesforce have up 65% year to date, suggesting that investors believe the company will dominate AI. On Monday, the shares fell by around 1.1%.
The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) increased by more than 1%, gaining traction throughout the trading afternoon.
Big Tech was the driving force behind Monday’s advances, while Oracle Corporation (ORCL) rose 6% ahead of its earnings announcement following the bell as Goldman Sachs analysts became less optimistic about the future for oil.
The inflation statistics released Tuesday morning in advance of the Fed’s rate decision will be the main event for Wall Street. Bloomberg surveyed economists who predicted that headline inflation would increase by 0.2% over the previous month and 4.1% over the previous year, which would be a decrease from April’s 0.4% month-over-month growth and 4.9% annual gain.
According to Bloomberg, the Federal Trade Commission is attempting to stop Microsoft’s (MSFT) $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (ATVI). Although the FTC has previously sued Microsoft, the agreement is still under investigation.
After the United Kingdom’s regulators disapproved the same scheme, Microsoft received approval from Europe’s antitrust authority. Microsoft is contesting the CMA’s judgement.
Though the trial is scheduled to begin on August 2, it’s unlikely that a judgement will be made before the end of the year. The deadline to complete the merger deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is approaching fast, ending on July 18. The arrangement might be renewed, but Activision Blizzard will have the last say.
Monday’s lunchtime trade saw an incline in US markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was up 0.1% as of 12 o’clock ET, while the S&P 500 (GSPC) was up 0.3%. Gains were led by the Nasdaq Composite, which increased by 0.7%.
Gains were recorded by the S&P 500 index as it began a new bull market run despite speculation about the Fed’s “game-time” decision. Top equities strategists at Goldman Sachs consequently revised their assessment of the market and raised the company’s S&P 500 objective for the year to 4,500 from 4,000 late last week. On Monday, the S&P 500 was trading close to 4,310.
After analysts at JPMorgan and Bank of America upgraded shares of the cruise operator, citing pent-up demand that is still robust for the cruise sector, Carnival Cruise (CCL) stock increased by more than 13%.
Oil continued to fall as Goldman cut its price projection for 2023 by almost 10% in response to weakening demand. On Monday, the price of WTI crude oil fell more than 3% to trade under $68 per barrel.
It has become a market cliché in recent weeks that the excitement around artificial intelligence is contributing to some of the stock market’s current gain.
Everywhere we turn, AI is supporting the market’s uptrend, whether it’s Michael Hartnett of Bank of America talking about the “Magnificent Seven” or the Goldman Sachs team upping 20-year earnings predictions as a result of AI.
For example, the Nasdaq is outperforming its rivals among the main indices on Monday, up 0.7%.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives claimed that this is not a 1999 moment—i.e., a blow-off top that occurs right before the bubble bursts as was observed in tech stocks from 2000–2002—but rather a 1995 moment when the groundwork for the next big digital invention is being built.
Fibre optic connections and the internet browser served as the foundation about 30 years ago. We are currently in an AI weapons race.
Ives is shown here emphasising.
As AI is the most transformative technology we have seen since the beginning of the Internet, we believe the stage is set for a “1995 moment” with tremendous cost cutting throughout the tech industry over the last nine months, stable enterprise expenditure, and a resilient consumer. Given the dramatic change in tech values, many tech sceptics would argue that this is a “1999 moment” that signals the beginning of the Dot.com bubble or collapse. However, we vehemently disagree. The tech sector is now on the verge of seizing the enormous $800 billion AI opportunity over the next ten years.
We anticipate that other technology companies besides Google, such as Oracle, Amazon, Salesforce, Palantir, MongoDB, Apple, IBM, Meta, Snowflake, C3.ai, and other tech stalwarts along with smaller players in the industry, will collectively spend tens of billions in this AI arms race over the coming years. This battle will be a long one over the next decade with Microsoft and Nvidia clearly leading the market in the AI race.
With Nasdaq (NDAQ) on Monday unveiling a $10.5 billion agreement to acquire compliance software player Adenza from private equity firm Thoma Bravo, the M&A market may be beginning to thaw.
Following the news, Nasdaq shares fell more than 7% in pre-market trading.
Thoma Bravo’s 2021 agreement to purchase what was then known as Calypso for an estimated $3.75 billion led to the creation of Adenza. AxiomSL, an established Thoma Bravo portfolio firm, and Calypso were combined to form Adenza.
Adenza anticipates revenue of $590 million in 2023 with annual recurring revenue growth of 18% and adjusted EBITDA margins of 58%, according to a press release on the deal from Nasdaq.
According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, there were just three announced M&A acquisitions with a value greater than $10 billion in the first quarter of this year.