Stocks Hold Steady, Small Caps Rise, French Equities Slip After Surprise Win By Left-Wing Bloc: What's Driving Markets Monday?

U.S. stocks started the week on a neutral note, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices hovering around the flatline by midday trading in New York. This comes after both indices reached fresh record highs last Friday.

Small-cap stocks outperformed their larger counterparts, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM gaining 0.8%. Meanwhile, blue-chip stocks of the Dow Jones index dipped slightly by 0.1%.

Across the Atlantic, French legislative elections concluded with a surprising victory for a left-wing bloc, though they failed to secure an absolute majority. This news led to a downturn in French stocks on the first trading day post-election, as investors worried about potential tax hikes on the wealthy and increased government spending amid already fragile national finances.

Consequently, the iShares MSCI France Index Fund EWQ dropped 1%, breaking a two-day winning streak.

In the bond market, Treasury yields remained stable, with the 10-year benchmark holding at 4.28%. Investors are keenly awaiting June’s inflation report, set to be released on Thursday.

In the commodities market, metals experienced significant declines, with gold, silver, and copper falling by 1.5%, 1.9%, and 1%, respectively, as the dollar slightly strengthened. Oil prices decreased by 1.2%, while natural gas rose 1.9% due to supply concerns linked to Hurricane Beryl.

Bitcoin BTC/USD traded flat at around 55,800 during a volatile session, with prices fluctuating between a low of 54,278 and a high of 58,200.

Read also:

• French Luxury Stocks Fall As Tax Concerns Rise After Left-Wing Election Upset: ‘A Left Government Might Pose Challenges For Billionaire Owners’

Monday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %chg
Russell 2000	2,040.34	0.7%
Nasdaq 100	20,403.94	0.1 %
S&P 500	5,565.48	0.0%
Dow Jones	39,321.30	-0.1%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was unchanged at $554.69.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA was 0.1% lower to $393.40.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) was steady at $496.40.
• Sector-wise, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU outperformed, up by 0.4%, while the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC lagged, falling 0.8%.

Monday’s Stock Movers

• Shares of R1 RCM Inc. RCM are rallying due to the prospect of a bidding war between its largest shareholder TCP-ASC and private-equity firm New Mountain Capital.
• Corning GLW rose 11% on Monday after the company raised its Q2 core sales guidance to $3.6 billion, citing strong adoption of new optical connectivity products for generative intelligence.
• Shares of Paramount Global PARAA increased by 4.6% to $21.41 following the announcement of a $28 billion merger deal with Skydance Media to create a new entity, “New Paramount.”
• Intel Corp. INTC rallied 4.8%, eyeing its strongest performing session thus far this year, after the company opted out of a significant investment project in Vietnam, citing a lack of sufficient investment incentives.
• Under Armour Inc. UAA rallied 6.1%, on track for the strongest 1-day performance since November 2023.
• SolarEdge Technologies Inc. SEDG rallied 11.3% after Bank of America upgraded the company from Undeperform to Neutral.
• Morphic Holding Inc.‘s MORF shares skyrocketed 75% after Eli Lilly pledged to buy the company in an all-cash deal valued at $3.2 billion.
• HilleVax Inc. HLVX plummeted over 80% after the company said it will cease the production of its vaccine candidate for infants.

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