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Stock Market News for May 22, 2024
U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting new all-time closing highs, as investors weighed comments from Federal Reserve officials and awaited NVIDIA earnings on Wednesday afternoon -fair. All three major indices closed in positive territory.
How did the benchmarks perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 0.2% or 66.22 points to close at 39,872.99 points after finishing above the 40,000 mark on Friday.
The S&P 500 jumped 0.3% or 13.28 points to finish at 5,321.41 for its 24th record close of 2024. Utilities, financials, consumer discretionary and consumer staples stocks gained the most .
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) gained 0.9%, while the Finance Select Sector SPDR (XLF) added 0.6%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) each advanced 0.6%. Six of the benchmark index’s 11 sectors ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.2% or 37.75 points to end at 16,832.62, recording its 10th all-time high in 2024.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which measures fear, fell 2.39% to 11.86. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.07-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.35-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 11.39 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, below the last 20 session average of 11.87 billion.
NVIDIA earnings in focus
Stocks resumed their rally on Tuesday after a mixed day on Wall Street that saw the Dow pull back from its all-time closing high above the 40,000 mark for the first time in history. There isn’t much economic data scheduled to be released this week, so markets focused on quarterly results from a number of retailers.
On Tuesday, investors focused on NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) as it prepares to report first-quarter earnings. The chipmaking giant at the center of the excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to deliver a strong set of quarterly results.
NVIDIA shares rose 0.6% on Tuesday ahead of its earnings. The company’s shares are up more than 92.5% year-to-date and 205% last year. NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see The complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Investors also digested comments from Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday. Central Bank Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday that he wants to see “several months” of favorable inflation data before considering cutting rates.
However, investors ignored concerns around inflation. The upbeat sentiment sent financial and consumer discretionary stocks higher. Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) and Bank of America Corporation (BAC) each gained 2.1%.
The story continues
Investors tout retailers’ earnings
Investors also closely watched earnings reports from several major retailers. (LOW) reported beat earnings and revenue.
Lowe’s reported quarterly earnings of $3.06 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.94 per share. However, the company’s shares ended down 1.9%.
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