The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,527.19 on Monday with a gain of 373.98 points or 1.13%. The S&P 500 closed at 4,077.91 for a gain of 58.04 points or 1.44%. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 13,705.59 for a gain of 225.49 points or 1.67%. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 17.91 for a gain of 0.58 points or 3.35%.
Monday's Market Movers
U.S. stocks started the new week with strong gains. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the March jobs report, with the following highlights:
- Non-farm payrolls increased by 916,000 following an increase of 468,000 and beating the estimate of 680,000.
- Unemployment rate decreased to 6% from 6.2%.
- Private non-farm payrolls increased by 780,000 following an increase of 558,000 and beating the estimate of 455,000.
- Government payrolls increased by 136,000 following a decrease of -90,000.
- Manufacturing payrolls increased by 53,000 following in increase of 18,000.
- Average weekly hours were 34.9, up from 34.6.
- Average hourly earnings decreased -0.1% in March and increased 4.2% year over year.
- The participation rate increased to 61.5% from 61.4%.
The better than expected results showed signs of an economic rebound for the months ahead. U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan has also increased optimism.
On Monday, consumer discretionary led gains as airline bookings have been improving. The Center for Disease Control has also said vaccinated Americans are relatively safe to travel.
The Nasdaq Composite led the major indexes with a 1.67% gain. Technology stocks were led by semiconductors, with the iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXX, Financial) up 2.02%. All of the FAANG stocks were also higher:
- Facebook (FB, Financial) +3.43%
- Apple (AAPL, Financial) +2.36%
- Amazon (AMZN, Financial) +2.08%
- Netflix (NFLX, Financial) +0.23%
- Alphabet (GOOGL, Financial) +4.19%
In other news:
- The Markit Composite PMI increased to 59.7 in March from 59.5.
- The ISM New York Index increased to 37.2 in March from 35.5.
- Factory orders decreased -0.8% in February following an increase of 2.7%. Factory orders excluding transportation decreased -0.6% following an increase of 1.8%.
- The ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI increased to 63.7 in March from 55.3. Separately, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index increased to 69.4 from 55.5, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Prices Index increased to 74 from 71.8, the ISM Non-Manufacturing New Orders Index increased to 67.2 from 51.9, and the ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment Index increased to 57.2 from 52.7.
- The Treasury held auctions for 3-month bills at a rate of 0.020% and 6-month bills at a rate of 0.035%.
Across the board:
- Tesla (TSLA, Financial) +4.43% on deliveries beat.
- Bank of America (BAC, Financial) +0.79% with healthcare technology firm acquisition.
- GameStop (GME, Financial) -2.35% on new share issuance plans and sales report.
- Alphabet (GOOGL, Financial) +4.19%
- Microsoft (MSFT) +2.77% with new record high.
- Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) -2.39% on announcement from OPEC+ to increase oil production.
Small-Cap Stocks
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 closed at 2,264.89 for a gain of 10.98 points or 0.49%. The S&P 600 closed at 1,346.01 for a gain of 5.71 points or 0.43%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Growth Index closed at 14,989.94 for a gain of 90.28 points or 0.61%. The Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Value Index closed at 11,053.63 for a gain of 32.98 points or 0.30%.
Other Notable Indexes
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 2,664.98 for a gain of 17.27 points or 0.65%; the S&P 100 at 1,852.56 for a gain of 30.02 points or 1.65%; the Nasdaq 100 at 13,598.16 for a gain of 268.65 points or 2.02%; the Russell 3000 at 2,443.40 for a gain of 30.23 points or 1.25%; the Russell 1000 at 2,296.07 for a gain of 29.69 points or 1.31%; the Wilshire 5000 at 42,692.36 for a gain of 542.67 points or 1.29%; and the Dow Jones US Select Dividend Index at 828.08 for a gain of 5.41 points or 0.66%.
Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Sign up for a free 7-day trial here.
