NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� U.S. stock indexes were split on Monday as gains for oil-and-gas producers helped offset drops for and other Big Tech companies.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% after erasing an earlier fall of 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 358 points, or 0.9%, while the weakness for Big Tech stocks dragged the Nasdaq composite to a loss of 0.4%.
Stocks have been under pressure the last month, and the S&P 500 is coming off its as traders cull expectations for how much relief the Federal Reserve may deliver this year through .
Such cuts would give the economy a boost, and the U.S. stock market ran to repeated records last year on the assumption that more are coming after the Fed began lowering rates in September. But the Fed鈥檚 2% target, and have suggested a doesn鈥檛 need much help. Questions are growing about whether the Fed will deliver even a single cut in 2025.
High rates put downward pressure on prices for all kinds of investments, and those seen as expensive can feel the stiffest punches. Nvidia fell 2% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500, though that represents just a smidgen of its huge gains made in recent years. The chip company鈥檚 stock had nearly quintupled over the last three years amid the frenzy around .
Apple鈥檚 1% slip and Meta Platforms鈥� fall of 1.2% were also among the heaviest weights on the market. Because they鈥檙e two of the largest companies on Wall Street, their moves pack more punch on the S&P 500 than other stocks.
tumbled 16.8% for the largest loss in the S&P 500 after giving a forecast for revenue this upcoming year that fell short of analysts鈥� expectations. The vaccine maker, which is seeing a slowdown in COVID-related sales, is accelerating a cost-cutting program.
Macy鈥檚 fell 8.1% after saying it will likely report revenue for the last three months of 2024 that鈥檚 at or slightly below the low end of the forecasted range it had earlier given. It鈥檚 a potentially discouraging signal about spending during the holiday season after strong spending by U.S. households has helped keep the economy out of a recession.
Edison International fell another 11.9% as wildfires continue to burn in the territory of its Southern California Edison utility. The utility has said whether its equipment was involved in the ignition of the Hurst fire.
On the winning side of Wall Street were oil-and-gas companies after the price of oil climbed. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 2.9% to $78.82, while Brent crude climbed 1.6% to $81.01. The Biden administration said Friday it鈥檚 against Russia鈥檚 energy industry.
Exxon Mobil gained 2.6%, and Valero Energy jumped 4.9%.
Shares of U.S. Steel rallied 6.1% after the Biden administration pushed back to June the deadline it imposed for the Pittsburgh-based company to unwind its proposed acquisition by Japan鈥檚 Nippon Steel.
Intra-Cellular Therapies soared 34.1% after Johnson & Johnson said it would buy the biopharmaceutical company and its treatment for bipolar I and II depression for $132 per share in cash. Johnson & Johnson rose 1.7%.
All told, the S&P 500 added 9.18 points to 5,836.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 358.67 to 42,297.12, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 73.53 to 19,088.10.
In the bond market, which has been dictating much of Wall Street鈥檚 action lately, Treasury yields ticked higher.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.78% from 4.76% late Friday. It鈥檚 been climbing relentlessly over the last month, and it was below 3.65% just in September.
The strong reports on the U.S. economy have helped push yields higher. So have worries that tariffs and other policies possibly coming from President-elect Donald Trump could boost inflation along with economic growth.
A report coming on Wednesday could offer the next spark for the bond market. That鈥檚 when the government will deliver the latest monthly update on inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated a touch to 2.8% in December from 2.7% in November.
鈥淩ates remain the most important variable for equity market direction,鈥� according to Michael Wilson and other strategists at Morgan Stanley.
Outside of the inflation data and its effect on interest rates, this upcoming week will also feature earnings reports from Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other big banks. They鈥檙e helping to kick off the start of earnings reporting season.
If Treasury yields continue to rise, either stock prices need to fall or companies need to produce bigger profit growth to make up for it.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across most of Europe and Asia.
Stocks sank 1% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in Shanghai, even though China reported its grew at a faster pace in December than expected. Factories were rushing to fill orders to beat that Trump has threatened to impose once he takes office.
___
AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
Stan Choe, The Associated Press
