WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After posting strong gains last Friday, the major U.S. stock indexes have moved in starkly opposite directions during trading on Monday. While the Dow has climbed to a new record intraday high, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has pulled back sharply.
Currently, the Dow is just off its highs of the session, up 198.18 points or 0.5 percent at 41,373.26, while the S&P 500 is down 15.29 points or 0.3 percent at 5,619.32 and the Nasdaq is down 196.04 points or 1.1 percent at 17,681.75.
The continued advance by the blue index comes amid strong gains by Dow Inc. (DOW), American Express (AXP) and Caterpillar (CAT).
On the other hand, substantial weakness among semiconductor stocks is weighing on the Nasdaq, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbling by 2.2 percent.
Within the semiconductor sector, AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) has slumped by 2.6 percent ahead of the release of its fiscal second quarter results after the close of trading on Wednesday.
Computer hardware stocks have also shown a notable move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile, steel stocks are seeing considerable strength on the day, as reflected by the 1.3 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Energy stocks are also turning in a strong performance as the price of crude oil has surged amid geopolitical concerns after Israel and Hezbollah traded a barrage of strikes across the Lebanon border.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing a sharp increase by new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the month of July.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders spiked by 9.9 percent in July after tumbling by a revised 6.9 percent in June.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to jump by 4.0 percent compared to the 6.7 percent plunge that had been reported for the previous month.
The substantial rebound by durable goods orders came as orders for transportation equipment skyrocketed by 34.8 percent in July after plummeting by 20.6 percent in June.
Excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders dipped by 0.2 percent in July after inching up by 0.1 percent in June. Ex-transportation orders were expected to come in unchanged.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.1 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day, with the U.K. markets closed for a holiday. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength, extending the upward move seen last Friday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.9 basis points at 3.788 percent.
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