U.S. stocks ended slightly lower Monday after a choppy trading day as investors took a pause ahead of economic data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony.
The Dow dipped a quarter-percent, the S&P 500 shed more than a tenth of a percent and the Nasdaq lost four-tenths.
Shares of Apple dropped 2.5% following a $2-billion EU antitrust fine for preventing Spotify and other music streaming services from informing users of payment options outside its App Store.
Chip stocks rallied, including Nvidia, which gained more than 3.5%, as investors continued to bet on demand for products powering artificial intelligence.
“We still can't stop talking about AI in general….”
Joy Yang is head of product management and marketing at MarketVector Indexes.
“People are pricing in future AI growth as well as innovation. And they’re looking at the enablers of AI. And these are the pick-and-shovel makers like Nvidia, Super Micro Computers, Palantir [Technologies], and these are stocks that are all up, you know, 70% year-to-date, over 200% year-to-date or 40% year-to date. So those are quite significant price movements.”
Super Micro Computer soared more than 18.5% Monday after the AI server maker was selected to join the S&P 500.
The AI rally has powered both the Nasdaq and S&P to recent record closing highs. The S&P 500 has jumped over 21% with four straight months of gains through February.
In other company news, shares of Macy's jumped 13.5% after investing firm Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management raised their offer for the department store chain.
And Spirit Airlines plunged more than 10% after JetBlue called off its merger deal with the ultra-low-cost carrier. Shares of JetBlue gained more than 4%.
Investors are awaiting comments from Fed chair Powell, who is due to testify before lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday, ahead of the release of Friday’s key jobs report.
Source : Yahoo Finance / Mar 5, 2024