Stocks climbed higher on Monday as Wall Street was boosted by recent economic data and possible easing geopolitical tensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 175 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite rose 1% and 1.2%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled on Monday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +1.03% or +52.95 points to 5,180.74
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.46% or +176.59 points to 38,852.27
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +1.19% or +192.92 points to 16,349.25
Zoom In:
Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said during a speech in Columbia, South Carolina on Monday that policymakers have room to be patient as they wait for inflationary pressures to improve before changing their policy on interest rates.
"The recent data whiplash has only confirmed the value of the Fed being deliberate," Barkin said. "The economy is moving toward better balance, but no one wants inflation to reemerge. We have said we want to gain greater confidence that inflation in moving sustainably toward our 2 percent target. And given a strong labor market, we have time to gain that confidence."
These comments follow remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday that the central bank is unlikely to raise rates in its next decision.
"So far this year, the data have not given us that greater confidence," in regards to inflation declining toward the Fed's 2% target, Powell said, adding that "it is likely that gaining such greater confidence will take longer than previously expected."
"We are prepared to maintain the current target federal funds rate [5.25% to 5.5%] for as long as appropriate."
Zoom Out:
Hamas announced Monday it has accepted a Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal to end its side of the Israel-Hamas war, the Associated Press reports. However, Israel said the deal did not meet its "core demands" but plans to continue negotiations. The ceasefire acceptance came hours after Israel ordered an evacuation of roughly 100,000 Palestinians in Rafah, signaling immediate military action in the region.
On the Earnings Front:
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) reported a 39% annual operating earnings increase in its first-quarter on Saturday, as its profit rose to $11.22 billion. That gain was driven by a 185% year-over-year increase in insurance underwriting earnings to $2.598 billion from $703 million in the previous period.
Separately, CEO Warren Buffett announced during the Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting the it has sold its entire stake in Paramount (NASDAQ: PARA) at a loss.
"I was 100% responsible for the Paramount decision," Buffett said. "It was 100% my decision, and we've sold it all and we lost quite a bit of money."
In the News:
Boeing (NYSE: BA) shares came under pressure late Monday after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced it has opened a new investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, now probing into "whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records."
Former Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz wrote in a LinkedIn (NASDAQ: MSFT) post over the weekend that the coffee chain needs to improve its mobile order experience and reevaluate its new product ventures following its disappointing earnings report last week.
"The company's fix needs to begin at home: U.S. operations are the primary reason for the company's fall from grace," Schultz wrote on the social media platform. "The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant. The answer does not lie in data, but in the stores."
For Tuesday:
Market participants are gearing up for quarterly earnings from companies including Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) after market close on Monday, and Disney (NYSE: DIS), Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE) and UBS Group (NYSE: UBS) on Tuesday.