US Stocks Pause, Alphabet Falls On Gemini Issues, Tesla, Bitcoin Rally: What's Driving Markets On Monday?

February 26, 2024 2:35 pm | 3 minutes read

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Wall Street showed a muted trend to start the week, with major indexes showing little change in midday trading in New York.

Investors are anticipating a series of key economic data expected in the coming days.

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The S&P 500 recorded a slight decline of 0.2% to 5,080 points, suggesting that the market was waiting for clearer signals. Now the technology-heavy one Nasdaq 100 found some support, rising 0.2%, supported by a notable performance from the semiconductor sector.

Small-cap stocks proved to be an outstanding segment iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rose 0.3%. The performance of blue-chip stocks remained largely unchanged.

Treasury yields trended higher across various maturities as traders continued to scale back expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The forecasts have been reduced to just 80 basis points of cuts for 2024, which is currently just over three full rate cuts.

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) fell 0.7% while the greenback held steady. The precious metals sector experienced a downturn, with gold losing 0.3% and silver losing 2% of its value.

crude oil showed resilience: West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose 1.8% to $78 a barrel, recouping almost all of last Friday's losses.

In the field of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) showed strength, posting a 3.5% gain and surpassing $53,000, signaling a robust start to the week for digital assets.

The performance of major indices and ETFs on Monday

Important indices	Price	1 day %
Russell 2000	2,030.56	0.3%
Nasdaq 100	17,965.88	0.2%
Dow Jones	39,101.57	-0.1%
S&P 500	5,080.81	-0.2%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) fell 0.2% to $507.17 SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) fell 0.1% to $391.08 and was tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) rose 0.2% to $437.56, according to Benzinga Pro.

The Utilities Select the sector SPDR fund (NYSE:XLU) was the significant underperformer, down 1.7%, while the SPDR fund for the energy sector (NYSE:XLE) was the biggest gainer, up 1.7%.

Stockbrokers on Wall Street on Monday

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose nearly 4% amid a broader EV rally, buoyed by positive investor sentiment Li Auto Inc.s (NASDAQ:LI) excellent quarterly results. Peers like Nio Inc. – ADR (NASDAQ:NIO), Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) and Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) also posted gains, rising 3.4%, 5.7% and 2%, respectively.
Crypto Related Stocks Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA), Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) and Riot Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) rose 20%, 14% and 15%, respectively, as Bitcoin rose to $53,000.
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) rose nearly 10%, marking the strongest performance among the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell 4% after analysts warned Gemini AI Tool inaccuracies in image creation.
R1 RCM Inc. (NASDAQ:RCM) rose 28% as a group of controlling shareholders considered privatizing the healthcare provider.
Freshpet Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) rose 17% after the company reported better-than-expected results.
Other companies that responded to the earnings were Domino's Pizza Inc. (NYSE:DPZ), up over 5%; loyalty National Information Services Inc. (NYSE:FIS), up 3%; Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (NYSE:PPC), up 7%; Itron Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI), up over 20% and Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG), down 1.9%.
Companies that report after the market close are Workday Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY), ONEOK Inc. (NYSE:OKE), Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM) and SBA Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:SBAC).

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