US Stocks Show Timid Gains, While Tech Titans, Bitcoin Slip Ahead Of This Week's Crucial Events: What's Driving Markets Monday?

Wall Street is showing cautious gains as the new week begins, despite thetech giants often referred to as the “Magnificent 7” all trading in the red: Apple Inc. AAPL, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL, Amazon Inc. AMZN, Meta Platforms Inc. META, NVIDIA Corp. NVDA and Tesla, Inc. TSLA.

Investors seem to be adopting a more guarded approach in light of significant economic events scheduled for this week. Tuesday will see the release of November inflation data, while the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will kick off its meeting, culminating on Wednesday with the release of the rate statement and Chair Jerome Powell‘s press conference.

Although no changes in interest rates are expected, all eyes are on the Fed’s outlook for 2024, with markets factoring in the possibility of up to five rate cuts by December 2024.

Among the noteworthy movers of the day, Bitcoin BTC/USD experienced a decline of over 5%. According to a report from CoinShares, there has been an uptick in short positions due to recent price appreciation and perceived downside risks. Bitcoin’s downward trend has also pulled down the rest of the cryptocurrency market, with Ethereum ETH/USD down 6%, Cardano ADA/USD down 9%, and Polygon MATIC/USD down 10%. The overall cryptocurrency market has shed $80 billion during this session, resulting in an overall market cap of $1.5 trillion.

Commodities are also exhibiting weakness, with both gold and oil down by 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively. Natural gas tumbled by nearly 7% in a move attributed to milder-than-expected weather forecasts and a higher-than-anticipated reduction in demand through the end of the month.

Monday Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	Chg %
Nasdaq 100	16,167.08	+0.5%
Dow Jones	36,302.74	+0.1%
Russell 2000	1,887.01	+0.1%
S&P 500	4,607.92	+0.1%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.1% higher to $460.87, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA rose 0.2% to $364.02 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was 0.6% higher to $394.51, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Sector-wise, industrials outperformed, with the Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLI up 0.9%. Communication services was the laggard, as the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLRE fell 1%.

Among industries, semiconductors rallied, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH up 2.2%. Gold miners, as tracked by the VanEck Gold Miners ETF GDX, fell the most, down 1.5%.

S&P Sector	Chg %
Industrials	0.9%
Cons. Staples	0.7%
Financials	0.7%
Technology	0.5%
Utilities	0.5%
Materials	0.4%
Real Estate	0.4%
Health Care	0.2%
Cons. Discretionary	0.1%
Energy	0.0%
Communication Serv.	-1.0%

Chart Of The Day: Magnificent 7 Fall In Sync

Stocks In Focus

• Macy’s Inc. M saw its stock surge by 20% after Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management submitted a $5.8-billion bid to acquire the company at $21 per share, representing a 32% premium over Friday’s closing price of $17.39.
• Humana, Inc. HUM fell over 3% while Cigna, Inc. CI rose 16% after the companies called off a proposed combination. Cigna also announced a $10-billion stock buyback plan.
• Broadcom Inc. AVGO rose 8.3%, hitting fresh record highs as Citigroup resumed coverage with a Buy rating.
• Affirm Holdings Inc. AFRM tumbled 6.8%, erasing Friday’s similar gains.
• Cryptocurrency-related stocks such as Coinbase Global Inc. COIN, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. MARA and Riot Platforms Inc. RIOT fell by 7%, 14% and 13%, respectively.
• Casey’s General Stores, Inc. CASY and Oracle Corp. ORCL are scheduled to report financial results after the market closes.

Read now: The Roaring 2020s? Analyst’s 2025 S&P 500 Target Of 6,000 Hinges On Key Milestone

Photo via Shutterstock.