Stocks rebounded sharply after last week’s selloff, boosted by easing geopolitical tensions and upcoming earnings reports from some of the market’s biggest names.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.7% at 38,240, while the broader S&P 500 added 0.9% to 5,010. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1% to 15,451.
Monday’s session marked a sharp reversal from last week’s action, when concerns about higher interest rates, mixed quarterly results, and rising tensions in the Middle East sapped market participants’ risk appetite.
Tesla (TSLA) shares continued their slide Monday, closing down 3.4% on news that the electric vehicle (EV) maker cut prices in major markets, including China and Germany. The company slashed prices by up to $2,000 on vehicles such as the Model 3 and Model Y amid waning demand and increased competition. Tesla, which reports earnings after Tuesday’s close, has lost more than 40% of its value year-to-date, making it the worst-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average by a wide margin.
Verizon Communications (VZ) slumped 4.6% Monday after the company posted quarterly revenue growth that missed Wall Street estimates. The only telecom in the Dow Jones also said it lost a net 158,000 users in its consumer wireless postpaid phone business in the first three months of 2024. VZ stock is back to levels last seen in January and is lagging the broader market by about 10 percentage points over the past 52 weeks.
Several major events could cause choppy trading in the days ahead. Big Tech will be in focus in a big way, with several stocks on this week’s earnings calendar. Meanwhile, the economic calendar features the March Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
