U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday, with strong corporate earnings leading Wall Street strategists to raise their year-end targets for the S&P 500, even as concerns over the Iran conflict persisted ahead of a series of key inflation data releases.
Gains among chipmakers propelled the S&P 500 to a fresh closing high, although a majority of the benchmark index's components declined. Energy stocks were the top performers across all sectors, while the VIX volatility gauge hovered around 18. Shares of Tesla Inc. advanced.
Circle Internet Group surged as optimism grew over the prospects of the stablecoin issuer's ARC blockchain project, coinciding with U.S. lawmakers advancing the consideration of a landmark digital assets bill.
According to media reports, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with his national security team on Monday to discuss next steps regarding the Iran conflict, including the potential resumption of military operations.
The U.S.-Iran ceasefire entered an especially fragile phase on Monday, with Trump describing the agreement as being "on life support in a very serious way." He told reporters that Iran's latest response was "a pile of garbage."
Mark Haefele of UBS Global Wealth Management's Chief Investment Office stated, "A deal remains far off, risks remain high, and both sides remain under pressure to reach an agreement."
On the economic front, an upcoming batch of data is likely to confirm growing public dissatisfaction with inflation in the United States. According to the median forecast from surveys, economists expect the Consumer Price Index for April to rise by 0.6%.
Veteran Wall Street strategist Ed Yardeni raised his year-end target for the S&P 500 from 7,700 points to 8,250 points, suggesting nearly 12% upside from Friday's closing level.
The Head of Global Macro Strategy at Morgan Stanley indicated that Tuesday's CPI report would deliver a "more explosive" set of figures, marking the first in a series of inflation-related data releases this week that will ultimately influence the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.
At the close, the S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to 7,412.84 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 49,704.47 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.1% to 26,274.13 points. The Nasdaq 100 Index advanced 0.3% to 29,320.66 points. The Russell 2000 Index climbed 0.3% to 2,870.64 points.
Comments