U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher Amid Strong Gains By Apple, Meta

Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, with the major averages all moving to the upside following the mixed performance seen during last Friday’s session. With the upward move, the major averages have largely offset last Tuesday’s sell-off.

Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Dow is up 171.22 points or 0.4 percent at 49,269.93, the Nasdaq is up 95.59 points or 0.4 percent at 23,596.83 and the S&P 500 is up 29.87 points or 0.4 percent at 6,945.48.

The strength on Wall Street comes amid strong gains by Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META), which are moving higher ahead of the release of their quarterly results later this week.

Shares of Apple are up by 1.9 percent, while shares of Meta are up by 1.2 percent. Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA) are also among the companies due to report their quarterly results in the coming days.

However, traders seem reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Traders are also keeping an eye on the latest geopolitical developments, with President Donald Trump threatening to impose a 100 percent tariff on goods from Canada over a potential free trade deal with China.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded by saying his country has no intention of pursuing such a deal.

The U.S. government is also facing the possibility of another shutdown, as several Democratic senators have threatened to oppose a spending bill if it includes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security.

The impasse over DHS funding comes after federal immigration agents shot and killed another U.S. citizen in Minneapolis over the weekend.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by much more than expected in the month of November.

Sector News

Gold stocks are seeing substantial strength as the price of the precious metal continues to surge, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index spiking by 4.6 percent to a record intraday high.

Significant strength is also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.

Utilities, computer hardware and oil service stocks are also seeing notable strength, while airline stocks have moved to the downside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.8 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index crept up by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved modestly higher on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are seeing further upside after ending last Friday’s session slightly higher. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.8 basis points at 4.211 percent.

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