On Monday, stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session but have since moved mostly higher as the trading day progressed. All major averages have gained, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 recording new intraday highs.
As trading advanced, the major averages hit new session highs. The Nasdaq climbed 151.02 points, or 0.9%, to 17,839.90, the S&P 500 rose 37.75 points, or 0.7%, to 5,469.35, and the Dow increased 119.99 points, or 0.3%, to 38,709.15.
Initially, traders were hesitant to make significant moves while evaluating recent market activity and the near-term outlook. However, buying interest emerged throughout the session, buoyed by the positive sentiment from last week.
Last week’s tamer-than-expected inflation data led to strong gains for the Nasdaq and the S&P 500, though the Dow did not follow the same upward trend. Federal Reserve officials forecast only one interest rate cut for this year following last Wednesday's monetary policy meeting. Despite this, traders are hopeful that these predictions may be conservative if inflation continues to decelerate in the coming months.
Looking ahead, traders are anticipating the release of key economic data this week, including reports on retail sales and industrial production, which are expected to draw significant attention.
On the U.S. economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report indicating that New York manufacturing activity contracted at a slower rate in June. The general business conditions index rose to -6.0 in June from -15.6 in May, indicating a slower contraction than economists had expected, who had forecasted it to rise to -9.0. Despite ongoing contraction, the New York Fed noted that optimism about the six-month outlook has reached its highest level in over two years.
**Sector News**
Oil service stocks have surged, pushing the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.1%, rebounding from its lowest closing level in four months. This rise aligns with a notable increase in crude oil prices, with July delivery crude climbing $1.30 to $79.75 per barrel.
Considerable strength has also been seen in computer hardware stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index jumping by 2.1%. Semiconductor and software stocks have followed suit, contributing to the tech-heavy Nasdaq's gains, although some weaknesses remain in telecom and gold stocks.
**Other Markets**
In overseas trading, Asia-Pacific stock markets mostly declined on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dropping 1.8% and China's Shanghai Composite Index decreasing 0.6%.
European markets delivered a mixed performance, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edging down by 0.1%, Germany's DAX Index rising by 0.4%, and France's CAC 40 Index advancing by 0.9%.
In the bond market, treasuries lost ground after trending higher in recent sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves inversely to its price, increased by 6.4 basis points to 4.277%.