Stock Market News For Jan 9, 2018

Markets finished mostly higher on Monday even as safe haven stocks such as utilities and real estate gained traction. Further, the optimism from a strong market rally that began with 2018 continued to push the benchmarks higher. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted record closes. However, the Dow declined due to a fall in bank shares and snapped its winning run.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) decreased almost 0.1% to close at 25,283. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to close at 2,747.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 7,157.39, gaining 0.3%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased almost 2% to close at 9.40. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.46 -to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.03-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq Post Record Closes

The S&P 500 gained almost 5 points to finish at a record. The broader index also hit an intraday record of 2,748.51. Majority of the gains came from industrial and energy stocks. Of the 11 major segments of the S&P 500, nine ended in the positive territory, with utilities and real estate leading the gainers. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) and Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) gained 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Nasdaq gathered 20.8 points to also finish at record level. Gains for the tech-laden index were buoyed by a surge in the shares of some major tech stocks. Shares of Facebook FB, Amazon AMZN, Alphabet GOOGL and Netflix NFLX gained 0.8%, 1.4%, 0.4% and 1%, respectively. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Nasdaq also hit an intraday record of 7,161.35 but a decline in biotech shares pared some gains for the index. The NASDAQ Biotechnology (^NBI) declined 1.4% on Monday, nearly its biggest decline since the mid of December. Such losses were led by a decline in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. REGN and Biogen Inc. BIIB, shares of which tanked 3.3% and 3.8%, respectively.

Dow Declines to End an Impressive Run

Dow defied the trend of the day to lose almost 13 points and ended in the red. This marked an end to its four-day winning streak of gains. However, the blue-chip index hit an intraday record of 25,311.99 earlier in the session but suffered broad based losses to finish in the negative territory.

Further, shares of major banks such as Goldman Sachs GS and JP Morgan JPM declined 1.5% and about 0.4%, respectively and weighed on the Dow. Bank shares declined after analysts estimated that there would be one-time charges to the fourth quarter earnings that the banks would suffer due to the implementation of tax reforms.

Fed Presidents Speak on Rate Hikes

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic commented on Monday that the Fed should continue raising the interest rates albeit at a slower pace compared to the last year.

Further, the San Francisco Fed President John Williams commented that the central bank should consider holding the rates lower for a longer period as that would allow the inflation to grow over the coming years.

Stocks That Made Headlines

Kohl's Rallies on Solid Holiday Sales: More Upside in Store?

In a landscape where many retailers are still struggling with consumers’ changing shopping patterns and soft traffic, Kohl's Corporation KSS surprised investors with impressive holiday sales data.  (Read More)

Lululemon Lifts Q4 Outlook on Successful Holiday Feat

Lululemon Athletica Inc. LULU was among the retailers that emerged strong this holiday season, which has lifted the overall outlook for the retail sector. (Read More)

Big 5 Topples on Soft Q4 Sales, Lowers EPS View

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. BGFV reported dismal sales numbers for fourth-quarter and full-year 2017, due to an extremely challenging performance in December. (Read More)

NVIDIA Hits All-Time High on Strength in Autonomous Vehicles

Shares of NVIDIA Corporation NVDA yesterday crafted an all-time high as the company’s recent announcements ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 made investors more optimistic on its autonomous vehicles opportunity. (Read More)

Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas

While we are happy to share many articles like this on the website, our best recommendations and most in-depth research are not available to the public.

Starting today, for the next month, you can follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time. Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors.

Click here for Zacks' private trades >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
J P Morgan Chase & Co (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Facebook, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) (GS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Biogen Inc. (BIIB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
lululemon athletica inc. (LULU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Kohl's Corporation (KSS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research