The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a milestone at 35,000, marking the latest in a string of all-time highs Monday as the broader market saw a mixed performance. The blue-chip gauge was building on gains from the end of last week when a disappointing jobs report was seen keeping the Federal Reserve from considering an eventual tightening of monetary policy.
What are major indexes doing?
On Friday, stocks shook off a much-weaker-than-expected April jobs report Friday, with the Dow and S&P 500 both ending at records, while the Nasdaq Composite outpaced its major benchmark peers but still posted a weekly loss.
What’s driving the market?
Analysts said Friday’s disappointing April jobs report, which saw U.S. nonfarm payrolls rise by 266,000 versus a consensus forecast for an increase of 1 million, continued to provide a positive backdrop for equities.
“In our view, the jobs report shows a surprising pause in the labor market recovery, coming at a time when the underlying fundamentals and alternative data are pointed towards acceleration,” wrote analysts at Credit Suisse, in a note.
“Nevertheless, this report should delay any discussion of withdrawing accommodation until a decisive labor market rebound takes place,” they said. “As such, we continue to expect positive equity returns, but at the expense of increased near-term volatility.”
Investors were tracking developments around a cyberattack on a vital pipeline that delivers around 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast. Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline over the weekend said it closed the pipeline was the target of a ransomware attack.
Gasoline futures RB00 were up more than 1%, though analysts said pump prices may avert a rise if operations are restored within a few days. Oil futures also moved higher.
Tech and other growth-oriented stocks, which are expected to grow earnings faster than their peers, were buoyed Friday as the jobs data sparked a retreat for Treasury yields. Those shares appeared set to resume their recent underperformance, however, as yields pushed to the upside on Monday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD10Y was little changed early Monday. Yields and bond prices move in opposite directions.
Meanwhile, a strong earnings season was moving into its final stage.
Through Friday, 88% of S&P 500 companies had reported earnings covering the first quarter, according to FactSet. The index is now reporting the highest year-over-year growth in earnings since for the first quarter since 2010, said John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet, in a note.
Analysts also expect double-digit earnings growth for the remaining three quarters of 2021. These above-average growth rates are due to a combination of higher earnings for 2021 and an easier comparison to unusually weak earnings in 2020 due to the negative impact of COVID-19 on numerous industries, Butters said.