The New York Stock Exchange closed choppy lower on Monday, too nervous to consolidate last week’s rally.
Based on the final results at the close, the Dow was stagnant at 35,091.13 (+0.00%). The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.58% to 14,015.67. The S&P 500 fell 0.37% to 4,483.87.
“For much of the trading day, we saw a continuation of last week’s gains, but as the close approached, the index fell,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital.
The previous week, the indexes had ended their first week of gains for the year: the Dow gained 1.05%, the Nasdaq gained 2.38% and the S&P 500 gained 1.55%.
But they are far from regaining the ground they lost since the beginning of the year: The STAR stock index is down more than 3% in 2022, the Nasdaq is close to a correction, down nearly 10%, and the S&P 500 is down more than 5%.
“It’s a very volatile market, but basically, the trend is positive,” the analyst assured.
“Nervousness persists as global markets face tightening monetary policy, geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the prospect of a mixed earnings season,” Schwab analysts said.
Seven of the 11 S&P sectors ended lower, with communications services (-2.24%) topping the list, with heavyweights such as Facebook (-5.37% to $198.26), Twitter (-2.24%) weighing on the Nasdaq. -2.54% to $36) or Netflix again (-1.97% to $402.10).
Despite the slight drop in oil prices, the energy sector performed well (+1.31%), with Chevron (+1.96%), ExxonMobil (+1.22%) and ConocoPhillips (+1.16%) doing well.
Auto stocks, such as General Motors (-1.13%), Tesla (-1.73%) or Ford (-0.45%), underperformed.
In contrast, shares of cruise lines such as Norwegian Cruise Line (+8.40%) and Carnival (7.82%) rebounded strongly.
Investors remained wary of the Federal Reserve’s rate hike plans as US January CPI inflation data will be released on Thursday.
Joe Manimbo, a foreign exchange market expert at Western Union, warned: “Expect to discuss inflation on Thursday in this moving Fed rate debate.”
“Consumer prices are expected to accelerate past December’s 7.1 percent annual growth rate, the fastest in decades,” he added.
The 10-year Treasury note yield held near a more than two-year high of 1.92% set on Friday.
In terms of odds, low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines surged 17.17% to $25.46 after announcing a merger deal with Frontier Airlines, in a deal valued at $6.6 billion.
Under the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2022, Frontier Airlines will control 51.5% of the new entity and Spirit will own the remaining 48.5%.
Frontier Group, the parent company of Frontier Airlines, rose 3.47 percent to $12.82.
Shares of smart exercise bike maker Peloton have been on a downward spiral in recent months, rising 20.93% to $29.75.
The market is awash in talks to buy the company, whose title was worth $150 a year ago. Peloton will report its financial results on Tuesday.
Bumble, the most sought-after American dating site, ended down 0.58 percent to $27.50 after announcing its acquisition of French startup Fruitz.