US Stock Markets Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Open Flat, Dow Begins Marginally Higher
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.80% to open at 42,452.02.
All three main Wall Street indices opened in green on Monday. The S&P 500 was up 0.46% at 5,834.60 points at the opening bell and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite leaped 0.52% to 18,614.62 points.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.80% to open at 42,452.02.
Stocks like 3M Co. surged 3.56%, McDonald's Corp. jumped 2.03%, and Intel Corp. was up 1.74%. Among the companies that slipped in early trade was Boeing Co., which dipped 2.19%, and Honeywell International Inc., which dropped 0.91%.
Among the 11 S&P 500 sectoral indices, ten were trading higher, whereas only the energy sector lagged against the previous day's close. The gains were led by utilities, communication and the real estate sector.
“This week’s megacap tech earnings and jobs data will provide plenty of potential fuel for near-term market momentum, but it remains to be seen whether investors will want to sit on their hands until after next week’s election, especially given the volatility around the past two,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley to Bloomberg.
“The S&P 500 sold off the week before the 2016 and 2020 elections and rallied sharply after them,” he stated.
As the US market opened, spot gold fell 0.17% to $2,742.91 an ounce. Crude oil prices saw a major slump, with Brent trading 5.18% lower at $72.11 per barrel.
The Bloomberg Dollar Index was flat at 0.3% down, with the British Pound rising 0.2% to $1.2986 while the Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 152.62 per dollar.
Bitcoin, the largest traded cryptocurrency, surged 1.8% to $68,877.34.
The yen dropped following the ruling coalition's failure to secure a majority in Japan's parliament, raising concerns that this political uncertainty could influence the central bank's approach to interest rate hikes.
Meanwhile, Chinese shares slipped as profits for industrial firms fell sharply in September, highlighting the economic challenges posed by deflationary pressures that are weakening corporate finances.
