U.S. market indexes traded mostly higher to start the week and month on May 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,891.16 for a gain of 117.52 points or 0.66 percent. The S&P 500 Index closed at 2,081.43 for a gain of 16.13 points or 0.78 percent. U.S. market economic indicators were in the spotlight for the day as investors closely watched economic reports following the Bureaus of Economic Analysis’ recent release of first quarter GDP data which showed a growth rate of 0.5 percent.
Among the most actively traded stocks Monday were Bank of America (BAC), Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT). Amazon (AMZN) was a top stock market gainer for the day while Seagate Technologies (STX) led stock losses.
Technology
In the technology sector, stocks also traded higher. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 4,817.59 for a gain of 42.24 points or 0.88 percent and the Nasdaq 100 closed at 4,381.30 for a gain of 40.00 points or 0.92 percent. Leading market valuations higher for the day, Amazon continued to gain following a strong earnings report Thursday evening that showed continued growth in the company’s Amazon Web Services. AWS has been a leading cloud product in technology during a time when Microsoft (MSFT) and IBM (IBM) are also reporting highly competitive products. Amazon was up 24.26 points or 3.68 percent on Monday to close at $683.85. On Thursday evening Amazon reported revenue and earnings that beat analysts’ expectations. Revenue for the first quarter was $29.13 billion, beating analysts’ estimates by $1.15 billion and gaining $28.2 from the comparable quarter. Earnings per share were $1.07, beating analysts’ estimates by $0.49. The company also reported increased guidance for the second quarter. Revenue for the second quarter is now expected to be $28 billion to $30.5 billion and second quarter operating income is expected to be $375 million to $975 million.
In a different segment of the technology market, Apple continued to show losses. For Monday the stock was down -0.10 points or -0.11 percent to close at $93.64. The stock’s losses continued after a disappointing earnings report last week which showed iPhone revenue down 18 percent from the comparable quarter, iPad revenue down 19 percent and Mac revenue 9 percent lower. The large-cap technology company’s sales have caused broader market worries for the technology industry in regards to mobile and personal computers which industry reports continue to show are significantly trending lower.
Economic Indicators
Market trading for the day was also focused on some key indicators of economic growth after the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed a 0.5 percent growth rate for GDP in the first quarter of 2016. Key economic indicators for the day were the PMI Manufacturing Index which showed flat output in the manufacturing sector. The April Index reading was below the consensus of 51.0 at 50.8. The ISM Manufacturing Index also showed weak output with an April reading of 50.8 versus consensus of 51.5. Construction spending was also reported on Monday, with results on the low end of the consensus range. Construction spending increased 0.3 percent in March versus an expectation of 0.5 percent.
Large-Cap Stocks
The large-cap Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.66 percent for the day.
Source: Google Finance
Home Depot (HD), Visa (V) and Microsoft reported the strongest gains for the Index. Home Depot was up 1.55 percent. Visa was up 1.51 and Microsoft gained 1.48 percent. S&P 500 sectors leading the day’s gains included consumer discretionary, financial services and consumer staples.
In small-caps, the Russell 2000 followed the day’s trend higher closing at 1,139.99 for a gain of 9.15 points or 0.81 percent. The S&P 600 closed at 699.72 for a gain of 5.16 points or 0.74 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 7,012.11 for a gain of 46.33 points or 0.67 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM closed at 8,245.95 for a gain of 83.45 points or 1.02 percent. Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index which closed at 1,473.23 for a gain of 11.58 points or 0.79 percent, the Russell 3000 which closed at 1,226.81 for a gain of 9.45 points or 0.78 percent and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index which closed at 591.17 for a gain of 3.07 points or 0.52 percent.