Stocks fell on Monday as weakness in technology shares pulled down the broader market as traders still grappled with last week's hotter-than-expected inflation data. Big tech came under pressure to start the week, as traders moved positions out of growth stocks and into more cyclical and reopening benefitting trades.
On the economic front, homebuilder confidence came in unchanged May over April at a reading of 83, according to the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index. May's reading also matched consensus estimates, based on Bloomberg data, and suggested that builders believe that current conditions are strong rather than weak.
"Builder confidence in the market remains strong due to a lack of resale inventory, low mortgage interest rates, and a growing demographic of prospective home buyers," NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke said in a statement. "However, first-time and first-generation home buyers are particularly at risk for losing a purchase due to cost hikes associated with increasingly scarce material availability."
Here's how the market settled to start the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.25% or -10.56 points to 4,163.29
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.16% or -54.34 points to 34,327.79
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -0.38% or -50.93 points to 13,379.05
For Stocks, AT&T (NYSE: T) announced Monday that it plans to spin off its media division WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery (NASDAQ: DISCA). The new entity will become one of the largest global streaming platforms, with offerings including HBO, CNN, HGTV, Food Network and TLC. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares took a hit after famous investor Michael Burry revealed a big short position on the electric carmaker.
For Sector Performance, sectors ended the session mostly lower, with Utilities (NYSE: XLU) and Communication Services (NYSE: XLC) leading losses. Only Energy (NYSE: XLE), Materials (NYSE: XLB) and Financials (NYSE: XLF) closed in the green as investors rotated into cyclical stocks.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) slipped lower on Monday on increasing inflation concerns felt among market participants, benefitting riskier currencies. The dollar index was down 0.14% in afternoon trade at 90.157 against a basket of six other currencies. Gold (NYSE: GLD) prices climbed higher on Monday on the sliding dollar as cautious investors ran to the bullion as a safe haven against inflation. Spot gold was up 1.3% at $1,866.84 per ounce in later market trade, while U.S. gold futures settled 1.6% higher at $1,867.60 per ounce. Crude oil futures rose over 1% on Monday as more nation began to ease coronavirus restrictions and rising U.S. market demand. International benchmark Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) climbed up 1.1% at $69.46 per barrel, while domestic index West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) settled 1.4% higher at $66.27 each.
For Tuesday, market participants will focus on quarter earnings from companies like Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Macy's (NYSE: M).