U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.41 percent or 10.9 points and closing at a record high (2663.3 points). The gain on stock markets is because investors put off big bets before a series of key central bank meetings this week.
For Nasdaq 100 on Monday, the biggest gainers of the session were CenturyLink Inc (NYSE: CTL), which rose 8.18 percent or 1.20 points to close at 15.87. TechnipFMC PLC (NYSE: FTI) gained 4.53 percent or 1.24 points to end at 28.59 and Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) was up 4.43 percent or 1.24 points to 29.22 in late trade.
However, the biggest losers included Scana Corporation (NYSE: SCG), lost 6.17 percent or 2.79 points to end at 42.38, while Ulta Beauty Inc (NYSE: ULTA) declined 3.74 percent or 8.40 points to 216.14 and Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC) shed 3.74 percent or 2.46 points to close at 63.29.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 opened flat after an explosion in New York’s busy Port Authority commuter hub occurred, which New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called as an “attempt terrorist attack.”
U.S. stocks later edged higher after worries receded over the explosion, and the Treasury yields climb just a bit. The market makes an assessment and revaluation almost immediately as soon as new information comes in. The stock indices, hence, reflect how markets react on this event.
This phase of stock climb is not only driven by the new tax bill, which slashes the corporate tax from 35 percent to 20 percent and is regarded as a significant campaign since President Trump took the office, but also a preparation by investors for an expected Federal Reserve rate hike later in the week.
The rate hike by the Fed is aiming to cool down the economy, whose performance is quite robust, with a low level of inflation. In this situation, markets show relatively optimistic towards December’s rate hike, which would increase companies’ financing cost.
Technically as depicted below in the daily chart, the S&P 500 surged in Nov. 28 and broke out the developing ascending price channel, which started from early this year. After that, it continued to rise even though there was a retreat halfway to the upper channel line, where the index found support. As it faces a significant resistance at the record high of 2665.2, the S&P 500 may retreat if it fails to break higher.
Chart 1: SPX500 Daily
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