Tech Stocks Inch Higher Ahead Of Key Inflation Data, GameStop Skyrockets, Tencent Fuels China Rally: What's Driving Markets Monday?
Wall Street kicked off a data-heavy week on a mixed note as traders await key inflation updates and remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in the coming days.
The S&P 500 remained stable, hovering around Friday’s closing levels and not far from record highs. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%, poised for its third consecutive session of gains, marking the seventh positive session in the last eight.
Blue-chip stocks were also trading flat at midday, striving to extend their winning streak to the ninth consecutive day.
The Russell 2000, tracking small-cap stocks, managed to outperform, up 0.6%.
Treasury yields moved slightly lower, with the 10-year yield easing from 4.5% to 4.47%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) rose 0.4%.
Animal spirits resurfaced in the meme stocks, as GameStop Inc. soared over 70% following a social media update from “Roaring Kitty,” a prominent figure in the 2021 meme stock phenomenon.
Exchange-traded funds linked to themes like meme stocks, cryptocurrencies and high-sentiment stocks, such as the Schwab Crypto Thematic ETF (NYSE:STCE) or the SoFi Social 50 ETF (NYSE:SFYF), saw broad-based rallies. In the cryptocurrency space, Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) outperformed peers, up over 10%, while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rose 3.2%.
Read also: Who Is Roaring Kitty? Why Does His Return To Social Media Matter For GameStop Stock?
Another notable market movement occurred in Chinese stocks, fueled by Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME) reporting revenue that surpassed expectations, resulting in a 9.3% surge in its shares.
The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (NYSE:KWEB) and the Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF (NASDAQ:PGJ) both saw gains of 3.9% and 3.8%, respectively, ahead of a flurry of upcoming company earnings reports this week, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA), Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) and JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ:JD).
In the commodities market, oil rebounded 0.8% while gold fell 1%.
Monday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day %chg |
| Russell 2000 | 2,073.47 | 0.6% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 18,196.52 | 0.2% |
| S&P 500 | 5,220.03 | 0.0% |
| Dow Jones | 39,457.14 | 0.0% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was 0.1% up to $521.20, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) was flat at $395.02 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) was up 0.3% to $443.26, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Sector-wise, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) outperformed, up 0.8%. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) was the major laggard, down 0.6%.
Monday’s Stock Movers
- Meme-related stocks experienced significant rallies across the board, driven by the dramatic surge in GameStop. AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) surged over 40%, Beyond Inc. (NYSE:BYON) nearly 20%, Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ:INCY) was up 7% and Bitcoin-linked MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) saw a 6% increase. Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) rose by 6% as well.
- Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) gained almost 3% amid rumors of a deal with Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), with the latter poised to invest over $11 billion in a new plant in Ireland.
- Stocks reacting to earnings included Fortrea Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:FTRE) down 15%, NET Power Inc. (NYSE:NPWR) down 0.5% and Paysafe Ltd. (NYSE:PSFE) up 4.2%.
- Companies reporting earnings after the close are StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE), Intercorp Financial Services Inc. (NYSE:IFS) and Agilysys Inc. (NASDAQ:AGYS).
Illustration created using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.