MARKET SNAPSHOT
U.S. stocks ended mixed as data suggested that the industrial side of the economy is on the mend, also sending Treasury yields higher by the most in more than a month. Gold ended at a record high and the dollar was higher. Oil settled higher on reports of an Israeli strike that killed a senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
MARKET WRAPS
EQUITIES
Stocks were mixed after new economic data prompted investors to dial back bets on interest-rate cuts this year.
The S&P 500 finished down 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% after both closed out last week at records. Strength in large technology stocks helped the Nasdaq Composite eke out a 0.1% gain.
The ISM manufacturing index for March came in at 50.3 -- up from 47.8 in February and above the 48.1 reading anticipated by economists.
The ISM report "created a little bit of doubt in the bond market, and that is feeding through to the equity market," said Steven Wieting, chief investment strategist and chief economist at Citi Wealth.
Earlier in the day, Chinese shares ended higher as fresh signs of economic recovery buoyed sentiment. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.2%, the Shenzhen Composite Index added 2.4%, and the ChiNext Price Index gained 3.0%.
Beijing reported solid PMI data over the weekend, while a private gauge of manufacturing activity was also upbeat. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index was closed for the Easter holiday.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended 1.4% lower, dragged by falls in chip-related and financial shares, after the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey for March showed sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers worsened for the first time in four quarters.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was closed for the Easter Monday holiday.
New Zealand's NZX-50 was closed for the Easter Monday holiday.
COMMODITIES
Oil futures advanced, with West Texas Intermediate crude reaching a five-month high after data showed business activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at a modest pace last month, while an Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria threatened to worsen geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude settled up 0.6% at $83.71 a barrel. Brent rose 0.5% to $87.42 a barrel.
"Much of today's price strength appeared related to reports of a missile strike in Damascus that pumped the geo-risk premium up a notch," Ritterbusch said.
Front-month Comex April gold gained 0.9% to $2236.50 -- up for five consecutive sessions and hitting a record high.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
More fuel for the economy? U.S. manufacturing gauge turns positive for first time in 17 months
The numbers: A barometer of business conditions at U.S. manufacturers turned positive in March for the first time in 17 months, in another sign that the industrial side of the economy is on the mend.
The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturers rose to 50.3% in March from 47.8% in the prior month.
Numbers above 50% are viewed as positive for the industrial side of the economy. The index had fallen for 16 months in a row.
Construction spending posts bigger-than-expected drop
Construction spending fell in February as U.S. companies and the government scaled back projects amid high interest rates.
Spending on construction projects fell 0.3% in February to $2.1 trillion, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
The figure fell short of expectations on Wall Street. Economists were expecting construction spending to rise 0.7% in February.
Google Pledges to Destroy Browsing Data to Settle 'Incognito' Lawsuit
Google plans to destroy a trove of data that reflects millions of users' web-browsing histories, part of a settlement of a lawsuit that alleged the company tracked people without their knowledge.
The class action, filed in 2020, accused Google of misleading users about how Chrome tracked the activity of anyone who used the private "Incognito" browsing option. The lawsuit alleged that Google's marketing and privacy disclosures didn't properly inform users of the kinds of data being collected, including details about which websites they viewed.
The settlement details, filed Monday in San Francisco federal court, set out the actions the company will take to change its practices around private browsing. According to the court filing, Google has agreed to destroy billions of data points that the lawsuit alleges it improperly collected, to update disclosures about what it collects in private browsing and to give users the option to disable third-party cookies in that setting.
Nuvei Agrees Deal to Be Taken Private
Canadian payments processor Nuvei has struck a deal to be bought by private-equity investor Advent International, supported by owners of Nuvei's multiple voting shares.
Nuvei, which is backed by celebrity entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds, said it entered a definitive agreement to be taken private by Advent in an all-cash deal that represents an enterprise value of about $6.3 billion.
The proposed transaction has the support of shareholders Philip Fayer, Nuvei's founder, chairman and chief executive, Novacap and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, who collectively represent roughly 92% of the voting power attached to Nuvei's shares.
AT&T Reset 7.6 Million Customers' Passcodes After Data Breach
AT&T said it reset the passcodes of about 7.6 million account holders whose personal information was leaked on the dark web after a data breach.
The affected data set, which also includes information from more than 65 million former account holders, was leaked onto the dark web about two weeks ago but appears to have come from 2019 or earlier, the company said Saturday. It includes personal information such as names and Social Security numbers. The source of the security breach isn't yet known, AT&T said.
AT&T said its internal investigation hasn't turned up evidence "of unauthorized access to its systems resulting in exfiltration of the data set," with the caveat that the probe is in its early stages. The company said its investigation is supported by internal and external cybersecurity experts.
Expected Major Events for Tuesday
00:00/AUS: Mar Melbourne Institute Monthly Inflation Gauge
00:30/AUS: Mar ANZ-Indeed Job Ads
05:30/AUS: Mar Commodity Price Index
13:00/SIN: Mar Singapore Purchasing Managers' Index $(PMI.UK)$
21:00/SKA: Mar International Reserves
22:00/AUS: Mar Australian PMI
22:00/AUS: Mar Australian PCI
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2024 16:46 ET (20:46 GMT)
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