Andrew Kelly/Reuters
- US stocks rallied at Monday's open, following the worst trading week of the year last week.
- The potential for the Fed to keep interest rates higher for longer is spooking investors, as the move would make equities less attractive.
- Monday data showed durable goods orders dropped in January as Americans cut back spending on big-ticket items.
US stocks climbed Monday, with investors looking to recover from the worst week of trading of 2023.
The strong start to the year for equities is showing signs of crumbling. Last week's Fed minutes illustrated that policymakers remain committed to cooling down inflation, and some warned that a higher-for-longer approach to interest rates may prove necessary.
Meanwhile, economic data released Monday showed that Americans spent less on big-ticket items, with durable goods orders declining 4.5% in January from the prior month.
Key corporate earnings to look for this week include Target, Costco, and Macy's. So far, 68% of S&P 500 companies have beat Wall Street analysts' fourth-quarter estimates, lower than the five-year average of 77%. That decline, however, hasn't been reflected in stocks to the same degree, as the index has stayed mostly flat over the last three months.
Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Monday:
- S&P 500: 4,002.60, up 0.82%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,035.25, up 0.67% (218.33 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 11,521.24, up 1.11%
Here's what else is going on:
- Seagen's stock surged 15% on a report that Pfizer is in talks to buy the biotech.
- The US dollar is staging a comeback as the currency looks on track for a monthly gain.
- Larry Summers said increases in the Fed's preferred inflation gauge are "very troubling," and that a recession looks likely.
- Chinese billionaire and star dealmaker Bao Fan is "cooperating in an investigation," his firm said.
- Warner Bros stock beat out Tesla and other S&P 500 peers as the "Hogwarts Legacy" video game sees massive success.
- Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway poured a record $68 billion into stocks last year.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- Oil prices slipped, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.34% to $76.04 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched lower 0.22% to $82.98 a barrel.
- Gold edged 0.34% higher to $1,823.90 per ounce.
- The 10-year yield ticked up 2 basis points to 3.93%
- Bitcoin rose 0.30% to $23,684.