- US stocks rebounded on Monday, with technology stocks leading the advance.
- Investors are gauging what a potential Kamala Harris presidency could mean for the stock market.
US stocks were looking to rebound on Monday following their worst week since April.
The gains came one day after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election, and instead endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris.
Technology stocks led the charge Monday morning, with the Nasdaq 100 rising about 1%.
A potential Harris presidency is seen as more friendly to mega-cap tech companies than a Donald Trump presidency, given that she is from California and has been less critical of globalization than Trump. Not to mention, Trump's VP candidate JD Vance has argued for a break up of some mega-cap tech companies.
"If Vice President Kamala Harris successfully proceeds to lead the ticket, this may bring less financial market-moving social issues to the fore of the campaign and would make her own VP pick more consequential than usual," Citi analyst Alex Saunders said in a note on Sunday.
Aside from politics, investors will be focused on two big economic data points this week.
Second-quarter GDP data will be released Thursday morning, with economists expecting growth of 1.9%.
That will be followed by the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE index, at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. Economists expect the June Core PCE index to rise 2.5% year over year, which is not far off from the Fed's long-term inflation target of 2%.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Monday:
- S&P 500: up 5,554.11, 0.89%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 40,406.01, up 0.29% (+118.48 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 17,970.11, up 1.37%
Here's what else is going on today:
- Warren Buffett's favorite valuation indicator just hit a record high, flashing warning signs for future stock market returns.
- Get ready for a flood of ether ETFs to hit the market. Here's how Wall Street is bracing for impact.
- The housing market is close to flashing a rare buying opportunity with prices set to drop in pandemic boom towns.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.83% to $77.99 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 0.69% to $82.06 a barrel.
- Gold was flat at $2,399.10 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield dropped one basis point to 4.22%.
- Bitcoin dropped 0.73% to $67,680.