Wall Street ended a quiet, mixed session on Monday as investors hit pause ahead of a busy stretch of corporate earnings and inflation data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher, while the S&P 500 closed almost unchanged and the Nasdaq Composite slipped. The main macro driver was a jump in oil prices of nearly $2 a barrel after deadly weekend strikes on Riyadh’s international airport in Saudi Arabia, which revived worries that higher energy costs could keep inflation stubborn.
What Moved Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 190.16 points, or 0.37%, to close at 51,845.11. The S&P 500 slipped 4.30 points, or 0.06%, to 7,807.24, staying close to its record territory. The Nasdaq Composite lost 120.27 points, or 0.44%, to finish at 27,245.90.
Rising oil was the day’s biggest theme. Energy was the best-performing group in the S&P 500, while technology and consumer discretionary stocks lagged. Chip stocks were especially soft, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling to a three-week low. Communication services shares rose, helped by Meta.
Bond market worries also hung over trading. The US Treasury market was closed for Columbus Day, so stock investors had no fresh signal from bonds, and yields have recently climbed to 24-year highs as energy costs feed inflation concerns. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack added to the cautious mood, saying the central bank should move “relatively quickly” to a more restrictive policy stance because inflation has become more broad-based. Traders now see a little under a 22% chance of a Fed rate hike this month, up from about 17.7% on Friday, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Notable Movers
Microsoft (MSFT) rose 0.9%. Earlier in the day its market value climbed back above $4 trillion for the first time in a year after the company announced plans for a major rollout of its own AI chips.
Salesforce (CRM) gained after BofA Global Research upgraded the stock to “buy” from “underperform,” a move that also helped lift the Dow, where Salesforce is a component.
eBay (EBAY) moved higher after Morgan Stanley added the online marketplace to its top-pick list.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) fell after Starbucks (SBUX) said it was not planning to buy the burrito chain, removing takeover speculation that had supported the shares.
Meta Platforms (META) rose and helped the communication services sector outperform.
Looking Ahead
Tuesday brings the unofficial start of third-quarter earnings season, with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase all scheduled to report before the opening bell. Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to post earnings growth of roughly 30.6% for the quarter, according to LSEG data, so the bar is high. Later in the week, investors will get September readings on consumer and producer inflation, plus retail sales. Together, those reports could shape expectations for Federal Reserve policy and show whether higher energy prices are filtering into the broader economy. Oil headlines from the Middle East are also worth watching, since another jump in crude could keep pressure on growth and technology stocks.