The S&P 500 rose Monday to close at a fresh record as Wall Street looked to build on last week’s gains.
The broad index added 0.77% to finish at 5,473.23, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 0.95% to settle at 17,857.02. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 188.94 points, or 0.49%, to end at 38,778.10 and snap a four-day losing streak.
“Today is a follow through from what we’ve seen over the last week,” said Greg Bassuk, CEO at AXS Investments.
“We’re seeing optimism around a number of factors that have been mixed for quite some time,” he said. “The economic data is starting to come in stronger with more consistency, you’ve got signs of a resilient economy. Certainly, there’s optimism and bullishness around a greater likelihood of the potential start of rate cuts.”
Megacap technology stocks bolstered the rally in the S&P 500, boosting the information technology sector 1.2%. Microsoft rose more than 1%, while Apple jumped about 2%. Alphabet, Amazon and Meta Platforms also finished higher.
Nvidia notched a fresh all-time high — but ultimately closed slightly lower — as State Street said the chipmaker will likely have a more than 20% weighting in the rebalance of its tech exchange-traded fund. Broadcom shares added 5.4% to hit new highs and build on last week’s 23% advance.
Monday’s gains come after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their seventh weekly gain in eight weeks. Entering the new week, investors wondered if the market could sustain its current momentum.
Even in previous bull markets, the upward price appreciation does not typically move in a straight line, said Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist at Edward Jones.
“Overall, the fundamentals and backdrop still remain supportive, but we would expect corrections along the way,” she said, adding that two to three corrections are typical in any given trading year.
Investors are monitoring May retail sales data, due out on Tuesday, as well as home sales and housing starts data later in the week.
