Before The Bell
Wall Street’s positive momentum from last week carried into the New Year, with the major U.S. indexes all posting gains for the first trading day of 2022.
While the record breaking-surge of the Omicron variant remains a major concern, investors appeared hopeful that the economy and the stock market would remain on the upward track this year. The day closed with the Dow Jones Industrials up 246 points, or 0.7%, while the broader S&P 500 advanced 30 points (.6%), both setting new records. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy NASDAQ led the pack with a gain of 187 points (1.2%). Notable moves included consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL) which, with a gain of 4.4%, became the first U.S. company to reach a market cap of $3 trillion. Meanwhile Tesla (TSLA) shares made a one-day jump of 13.5% thanks to record deliveries in the fourth quarter, with the stock closing just under its 52-week high. Performance among the 10 major market sectors was evenly split between advancers and decliners. Leading on the upside were energy (+3.1%), consumer discretionary (+2.8%), and financial stocks (+1.2%). On the other side of the ledger, basic materials (-1.4%) and health issues (-1.0%) suffered the largest losses.
The European stock markets also had a positive session, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC-40 both advancing about 0.9%. The U.K. market was closed for a public holiday. In energy markets, oil prices closed up, with light sweet crude advancing about 1.1%, to about $76 a barrel. The commodity is up about 60% over the past 12 months, and has been one of the key elements contributing to the current inflationary environment.
As we look toward the new trading day on our shores, stocks in Asian markets mostly closed up, and the European exchanges are showing solid gains. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures are suggesting the major indexes here will extend their upward trend, while crude oil is also up.
This week brings a number of key economic reports, with the Institute for Supply Management’s report on manufacturing, along with auto sales data, out today. These will be followed by job openings for November and nonfarm payrolls for December, among others.
– Mario Ferro
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
