Stocks ended Monday's choppy session mixed, with the broader market declining while the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new record closing high. Wall Street was pressured throughout the day after several big stocks like ViacomCBS (VIAC ) and Discovery (DISCA ) were linked to the forced liquidation of positions held by Archegos Capital Management, which reports said totaled more than $20 million.
Meanwhile, investors rejoiced that the massive container ship stuck in the Suez Canal was finally dislodged after blocking the water way for nearly a week, harming the global economy by halting one of the world's most important shipping lanes. However, shipments are still expected to be delayed due to many ship re-routing along the coast of Africa. The true impact of the blocked canal has yet to be fully realized.
Here's how the market settled to start the week:
S&P 500 Index (SPY ): -0.09% or -3.44 points to 3,971.10
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA ): +0.30% or +98.49 points to 33,171.37
Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ ): -0.60% or -79.08 points to 13,059.65
For Stocks, Credit Suisse (CS ) and Nomura (NMR ) warned investors that their first quarter earnings may be affected by the liquidation of stock positions by Archegos, while other financial stocks like Morgan Stanley (MS ) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM ) fell lower as government bond yields increased.
For Sector Performance, sectors ended the volatile session on Monday mixed, with Utilities (XLU ), Consumer Staples (XLP ) and Communication Services (XLC ) leading gains, while Financials (XLF ) and Energy (XLE ) led losses.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP ) rose on Monday as investors turned to the safe-haven following the hedge fund's default. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six other currencies, settled up at 92.825 after reaching session highs of 92.919. Gold (GLD ) prices slipped on the strengthening dollar and optimism towards a faster U.S. economic recovery. Spot gold declined 1.1% to $1,713.52 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures settled 1.2% lower at $1,711.60 per ounce. Crude oil futures rose over 1% on Monday following a choppy trading day, having fallen earlier in the session after the container ship in the Suez Canal was refloated. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO ) rose to $64.98 per barrel, while domestic index West Texas Intermediate (USO ) increasing to $61.56 each.
For Tuesday, market participants will react to the fallout from Archegos Capital default and look ahead to the March jobs report this Friday.