Stocks Hold Steady, Small Caps Rise, French Equities Slip After Surprise Win By Left-Wing Bloc: What's Driving Markets Monday?
U.S. stocks started the week on a neutral note, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices hovering around the flatline by midday trading in New York. This comes after both indices reached fresh record highs last Friday.
Small-cap stocks outperformed their larger counterparts, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) gaining 0.8%. Meanwhile, blue-chip stocks of the Dow Jones index dipped slightly by 0.1%.
Across the Atlantic, French legislative elections concluded with a surprising victory for a left-wing bloc, though they failed to secure an absolute majority. This news led to a downturn in French stocks on the first trading day post-election, as investors worried about potential tax hikes on the wealthy and increased government spending amid already fragile national finances.
Consequently, the iShares MSCI France Index Fund (NYSE:EWQ) dropped 1%, breaking a two-day winning streak.
In the bond market, Treasury yields remained stable, with the 10-year benchmark holding at 4.28%. Investors are keenly awaiting June’s inflation report, set to be released on Thursday.
In the commodities market, metals experienced significant declines, with gold, silver, and copper falling by 1.5%, 1.9%, and 1%, respectively, as the dollar slightly strengthened. Oil prices decreased by 1.2%, while natural gas rose 1.9% due to supply concerns linked to Hurricane Beryl.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) traded flat at around 55,800 during a volatile session, with prices fluctuating between a low of 54,278 and a high of 58,200.
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Monday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day %chg |
| Russell 2000 | 2,040.34 | 0.7% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 20,403.94 | 0.1 % |
| S&P 500 | 5,565.48 | 0.0% |
| Dow Jones | 39,321.30 | -0.1% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was unchanged at $554.69.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) was 0.1% lower to $393.40.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) was steady at $496.40.
- Sector-wise, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) outperformed, up by 0.4%, while the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) lagged, falling 0.8%.
Monday’s Stock Movers
- Shares of R1 RCM Inc. (NASDAQ:RCM) are rallying due to the prospect of a bidding war between its largest shareholder TCP-ASC and private-equity firm New Mountain Capital.
- Corning (NYSE:GLW) rose 11% on Monday after the company raised its Q2 core sales guidance to $3.6 billion, citing strong adoption of new optical connectivity products for generative intelligence.
- Shares of Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARAA) increased by 4.6% to $21.41 following the announcement of a $28 billion merger deal with Skydance Media to create a new entity, “New Paramount.”
- Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) rallied 4.8%, eyeing its strongest performing session thus far this year, after the company opted out of a significant investment project in Vietnam, citing a lack of sufficient investment incentives.
- Under Armour Inc. (NYSE:UAA) rallied 6.1%, on track for the strongest 1-day performance since November 2023.
- SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SEDG) rallied 11.3% after Bank of America upgraded the company from Undeperform to Neutral.
- Morphic Holding Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:MORF) shares skyrocketed 75% after Eli Lilly pledged to buy the company in an all-cash deal valued at $3.2 billion.
- HilleVax Inc. (NASDAQ:HLVX) plummeted over 80% after the company said it will cease the production of its vaccine candidate for infants.
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