U.S. stocks finished sharply higher Monday as investors looked past weekend U.S.-Iran clashes and turned attention toward technology shares and the coming earnings season.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. stocks rallied Monday, with the Nasdaq jumping more than 2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 52,000, as easing concerns over U.S.-Iran hostilities and renewed strength in major technology stocks lifted Wall Street.
The Dow ended at a record closing high after weekend military exchanges between Washington and Tehran failed to unsettle investors. Markets were also supported by expectations that U.S. and Iranian technical teams will continue work on implementing an interim peace agreement.
A source told Reuters that Iranian and U.S. technical teams are expected to meet in Doha in the coming days to discuss implementation of the interim deal, after weekend strikes threatened to disrupt the fragile agreement.
The United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17 aimed at ending four months of conflict. The agreement called for both sides to cease hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“The fact that we had hostilities between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend really didn’t have a negative effect on the market,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
“The market is looking forward and preparing for earnings season, which is not that far away,” he said.
Most S&P 500 companies are expected to begin reporting second-quarter results after mid-July.
Communications services led gains among S&P 500 sectors, while technology-related shares also rebounded after recent weakness tied to concerns about artificial intelligence spending.
Shares of Comcast rose after the media and cable company said it plans to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies through a tax-free spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky.
SpaceX also closed higher after Nasdaq said the newly listed company will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index on July 7.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, gained on its first day as a Dow component.
Preliminary data showed the S&P 500 rose 85.24 points, or 1.16%, to close at 7,439.26. The Nasdaq Composite gained 514.90 points, or 2.04%, to finish at 25,812.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 296.58 points, or 0.57%, to end at 52,172.69.
Cardillo said quarter-end “window dressing,” a practice in which investors buy certain stocks to improve the appearance of their portfolios, may also have contributed to the rally.
Artificial intelligence-related stocks, including semiconductor companies and several members of the Magnificent Seven group of megacap technology names, had come under pressure recently amid concerns about AI spending.
On Monday, the information technology index gained as investors returned to the sector.
RBC Capital Markets also raised its 12-month target for the S&P 500 to 8,150 from 7,900, citing earnings strength and a supportive macroeconomic backdrop.
The market’s advance showed investors remained focused on earnings, technology momentum and broader economic conditions despite renewed geopolitical risks in the Middle East.