U.S. stocks were essentially unchanged at the close of a choppy session on Monday, with a solar eclipse offering distraction ahead of crucial inflation data and the kick-off of first-quarter earnings season.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.24 points, or 0.03%, to 38,892.80. The S&P 500 lost 1.95 points, or 0.04%, at 5,202.39 and the Nasdaq Composite added 5.44 points, or 0.03%, at 16,253.96.
Market Movers
Tesla (TSLA) - Tesla rose 4.9% after CEO Elon Musk said late Friday the electric-vehicle company would unveil its “robotaxi” on Aug. 8. The stock closed down 3.6% on Friday after a Reuters report said Tesla was scrapping plans to build a lower-priced all-electric vehicle and instead would be focus on producing self-driving robotaxis. Musk denied the report soon after it was published in a tweet on X, his social-media platform.
TSMC (TSM) - TSMC rose 1% after the U.S. government said it would provide $6.6 billion to the world’s largest for a factory complex under construction in Phoenix.
Coinbase (COIN), MicroStrategy (MSTR) - MicroStrategy jumped 5.1% and Coinbase Global rose 6.7% as the crypto-related stocks rose alongside Bitcoin, which has gained 3.3% over the past 24 hours to $71,542.75.
SoFi Technologies (SOFI) - SoFi Technologies rose 4.9% to $7.76 after Citi analysts led by Ashwin Shirvaikar, who had suspended their rating on the fintech, resumed coverage with a Buy recommendation and price target of $11.
GE Vernova (GEV) - GE Vernova rose 5.9% to $129.96 after J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Strouse upgraded shares of the power-generation company to Overweight from Neutral and maintained his price target on the stock of $141.
Ducommun (DCO) - Ducommun jumped 15% to $55.86 after the aerospace and defense supplier confirmed it received a buyout offer from private investment firm Albion River. The firm raised its stake in Ducommun to 9% and said it was interested in acquiring the rest of the company for $60 a share in cash. The offer values Ducommun at about $878 million.
Apartment Income REIT (AIRC) - Apartment Income REIT jumped 22.4% after Blackstone agreed to acquire the owner of upscale apartment buildings for about $10 billion.
Fastly (FSLY) - Fastly was raised to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler and the price target on the stock was reduced to $16 from $19. Shares of the cloud-computing company rose 7.8% to $13.51.
Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) - Take-Two Interactive Software gained 1.7% to $153.65. Shares of the videogame maker were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi and the price target was increased to $200 from $170 a share.
Market News
Fed rate cut expectations for 2024 fall to lowest since October
Futures traders have reduced bets on how much the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year to the lowest level since October, LSEG data showed on Monday, amid evidence of continued strength in the U.S. economy.
Fed funds futures contracts for December on Monday reflected expectations of around 60 basis points in rate cuts this year, compared to some 150 basis points that had been priced at the start of 2024. The prospect of a first 25 basis point cut in June stood at 49%, down from 57% a week ago, CME Group data showed on Monday.
Expectations for how deeply and how soon the Fed will cut rates have shifted rapidly over the last few months, as investors grow increasingly doubtful that policymakers will be able to lower borrowing costs without sparking an inflationary rebound in a strong economy. The Fed has projected it will cut rates by 75 basis points this year.
Tesla settles case over fatal 2018 crash of Apple engineer
Tesla has settled a lawsuit over a car crash which killed an Apple engineer in 2018 after his car veered off a highway near San Francisco, court documents showed on Monday.
The settlement would help Tesla avoid a lengthy jury trial over what role its Autopilot driver-assistance technology may have played in the crash.
The case involves a highway accident that killed Walter Huang. Tesla had contended Huang misused the system because he was playing a video game just before the accident.