The Dow and S&P 500 edged lower on Monday, dragged down by investor worries over the timing of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve after stronger-than-expected manufacturing data pushed Treasury yields higher.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 240.52 points, or 0.60%, to 39,566.85, the S&P 500 lost 10.58 points, or 0.20%, to 5,243.77 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 17.37 points, or 0.11%, to 16,396.83.
Market Movers
Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) - Trump Media & Technology Group declined 21.5%, falling for a second-straight session after the stock rose 24% last week following its trading debut. A new regulatory filing released Monday said Trump Media lost $58.2 million in 2023 on sales of $4.13 million. Meanwhile, Barron’s reported that former President Donald Trump stands to receive 36 million additional shares of Trump Media, the owner of Truth Social, that could vest in the coming month under the terms of an earnout agreement with the company.
Micron (MU) - Micron Technology jumped 5.4% and was one of the top stocks in the S&P 500 on Monday after analysts at BofA Securities raised their price target on the chip maker to $144 from $120 and maintained their Buy rating. Analyst Vivek Arya said Micron shares have room to grow as demand for high-bandwidth memory increases.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Tesla (TSLA) - Super Micro Computer rose 2.7%. The server maker was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 during the first three months of the year, jumping 225%. Tesla was the worst, falling 29%. Shares of the electric-vehicle maker fell 0.3%.
Tesla is expected to report first-quarter deliveries on Tuesday with Wall Street cutting estimates as demand slows for all-electric vehicles. Ahead of the delivery numbers, Tesla raised prices on its Model Y in the U.S. by $1,000, according to a report from Reuters.
Li Auto (LI), NIO (NIO), XPeng (XPEV) - U.S.-listed shares of Li Auto rose 1.1% after the Chinese EV maker said it delivered 28,984 vehicles in March, up 39% from a year earlier. First-quarter deliveries were 80,400, up nearly 53%. NIO rose 3.1% and XPeng was up 1% after they also released deliveries data that rose sharply in March from a year earlier.
Microsoft (MSFT) - Microsoft gained 0.9% to $424.57 after analysts at Jefferies raised their price target on the stock to $550 from $465 and maintained their Buy rating. Analyst Brent Thill said in a research note that Microsoft was the top winner in artificial intelligence.
AT&T (T) - AT&T fell 0.6% after the telecommunications company over the weekend disclosed that personal data from millions of account holders was leaked on the dark web about two weeks ago. AT&T has launched an investigation and has begun notifying customers whose personal information was compromised. It also has reset the passcodes of current users. AT&T said its analysis found that the data set “appears to be from 2019 or earlier, impacting approximately 7.6 million current AT&T account holders and approximately 65.4 million former account holders.”
United Parcel Service (UPS), FedEx (FDX) - United Parcel Service fell 0.7% after the shipping company said it received a “significant” air cargo contract from the U.S. Postal Service, expanding their partnership. UPS will become the postal service’s primary air cargo provider under the agreement. FedEx shares fell 3.3% after the company said its contract with the postal service will expire on Sept. 29.
Semtech (SMTC) - Semtech was up 6.8% after the chip maker posted better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter sales on Thursday and said it expects first-quarter net sales of $200 million, better than forecasts of $195.3 million.
Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) - Ballard Power Systems rose 17.6% after it signed a long-term agreement with European bus manufacturer Solaris Bus & Coach for the supply of 1,000 fuel cell engines through 2027. Ballard said it was the largest order in the company’s history.
Market News
June Fed Rate-Cut Odds Dip Below 50% After Strong ISM Data
Bond traders priced in less monetary-policy easing by the Federal Reserve this year — and briefly set the odds of a first move in June below 50% — after a gauge of US manufacturing activity showed expansion for the first time since 2022.
The amount of Fed rate cuts priced into swap contracts for this year dropped to fewer than 65 basis points — less than Fed policymakers themselves have forecast — after a report on ISM manufacturing for March exceeded all estimates in Bloomberg’s survey of economists. A bond-market decline lifted two- to 30-year Treasury yields roughly 10 or more basis points on the day, among their biggest daily increases this year.
The selloff was already under way before the ISM data release as traders reassessed the outlook for monetary policy based on economic figures and cautious comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, when US markets were closed.
Tesla Raises Prices of Model Y Cars in China and US
Tesla on Monday raised prices for all Model Y cars in the United States by $1,000, according to its website.
The US electric vehicle maker raised the prices of all three variants of the Model Y in China by RMB 5,000 yuan ($690), information on its Chinese website showed.