Tech Stocks Trudge, Blue Chips Set To Extend Record Winning Streak: What's Driving Markets Monday?

It’s a broadly positive session for the U.S. stock market on Monday, albeit one marked by significant sectoral differences.

The tech sector is experiencing flat performance at midday, while blue-chip stocks continue to surge, aiming for their eleventh consecutive positive close, a streak not seen since 1987.

Today’s earnings reports are relatively sparse, with investors gearing up for busy days ahead as heavyweights like Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Meta Platforms Inc. META and Amazon Inc. AMZN prepare to report.

All eyes are on the upcoming FOMC meeting, with the meeting beginning Tuesday and the Fed delivering a rate decision statement Wednesday.

Cues From Monday’s Trading:

The S&P 500 Index rose 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 Index was unchanged.

Blue chip stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.6%, on track to mark their eleventh straight session in the green.

Small caps in the Russell 2000 Index rose 0.3%.

US Index Performance On Monday July 24th

Index	Performance (+/-)	Value
Nasdaq 100	+0.02%	15,434.48
S&P 500 Index	+0.50%	4,560.78
Dow Industrials	+0.56%	35,411.79
Russell 2000	+0.30%	1,965.03

Monday’s Trading In Major US Equity ETFs: In midday trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.5% higher to $454.24, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA rose 0.54% to $354.03 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was flat at $375.88, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Almost all U.S. equity sectors were positive, except for the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV, which traded mostly flat.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE was best performing sector on Monday, up 2.1%, followed by the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF, up 1.1%.

Latest Economic Data:

The S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI recorded an increase from 46.3 in June to 49 in July, breaking the trend of two consecutive months of declines and surpassing expectations of 46.2.

The S&P Global U.S. Services PMI fell from 54.4 in June to 52.4 in July, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, and missing expectations of 54. The service activity gauge fell to the lowest since February 2023.

The S&P Global US Composite PMI fell from 53.2 in June to 52 in July, the lowest since March 2023.

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Stocks In Focus:

• AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. AMC soared 27% after CEO Adam Aron said the company filed a revised petition for a stock conversion plan to address the Delaware court's concerns over other shareholders.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA rose 2.3% after company’s representatives are set to meet India's commerce minister this month to discuss plans to build a factory to produce what the company has described as an all-new $24,000 car. EV luxury-car maker Lucid Group Inc. LCID rose nearly 5%.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX rose over 6% after the company said its received FDA 510 (k) clearance for its updated BD Alaris infusion system. This system connects all patient modules to provide care teams with a single, comprehensive patient view.
• Chevron Corp. CVX advanced over 2.6% after reporting better-than-expected Q2 results over the weekend.
• Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ reported better than expected earnings, but missed revenue forecasts. The stock price rose 1.5%.
• Those companies reporting after the market close include Whirlpool Corp. WHR, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. CLF, Logitech International S.A. LOGI, Agilysys, Inc. AGYS and F5, Inc. FFIV.

Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil rose 3%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude trading at $79.10. The United States Oil Fund ETF USO was 2.7% higher to $70.90.  

Treasury yields were broadly unchanged, with the 10-year yield flat at to 3.85% and the two-year yield up marginally up to 4.89%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT was 0.2% lower for the day. 

The dollar rose, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, down 0.2%. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust FXE, was 0.4% lower to 1.1081.

European equity indexes closed with mixed performances. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 Etf  FEZ fell 0.5%. 

Gold held steady at $1,960/oz. The SPDR Gold Trust GLD was 0.1% lower to $182. Silver fell 0.7% to $24.42, with the iShares Silver Trust SLV down 0.7% to $22.42. Bitcoin BTC/USD fell 3.3% to $29,100.

Staff writer Piero Cingari updated this report midday Friday. 

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