Key Points
- All three major US stock indexes closed higher on Monday. JPMorgan Chase and Huntington Ingalls both hit new all-time highs.
- Luminar Technologies’ stock plummeted 64% to a record low.
- Gold and oil prices jumped over 2% during the session.
- The market “fear index” (VIX) dropped to a one-year low.
Wall Street closed higher on Monday as investors piled into bank, energy, and raw material stocks. All three major indexes posted gains to start the week. The S&P 500 led the way with a 0.64% rise, while the NASDAQ climbed 0.52% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.47%.
It was a record-breaking day for some of the biggest names in finance. JPMorgan Chase shares jumped 1.85%, hitting an all-time high. Investors also showed strong interest in the healthcare and tech sectors. Merck rose over 3.5%, and Salesforce climbed nearly 2%.
In the broader market, First Solar recorded a 6.6% gain, reaching its highest price in a year, while shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls also reached a new record high.
However, the day wasn’t perfect for everyone. Retail and consumer stocks struggled. Nike saw its shares decline by more than 2.5%, and Walmart fell by about 1.5%. The largest decline of the session was Luminar Technologies, which fell nearly 64% to a new all-time low. Zynex also had a rough day, falling more than 34% to reach a five-year low.
Despite these individual losses, rising stocks generally outnumbered falling ones on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.
In the commodities market, gold and oil prices both surged. Gold futures jumped over 2% to reach $4,483.60. Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose more than 2.5%, with Brent oil trading above $62 a barrel. These jumps in energy prices helped fuel the rally in oil and gas stocks during the session.
Perhaps the most notable signal from the market was the decline in the CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as the “fear index.” It fell more than 5% to hit a new one-year low. This suggests that investors are feeling more confident and less worried about sudden market swings as the year winds down.
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar weakened slightly, allowing the Euro and the Japanese Yen to gain ground.
