- Stocks opened lower Monday after closing out a strong July.
- The S&P 500 finished last month with a 9.1% gain, its best showing since November 2020.
US stocks opened lower Monday as investors lost steam following the strongest month for markets since November 2020.
The S&P 500 ended July with a 9.1% gain, even as recession calls became more regular and the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again to combat scorching inflation. The key index was lifted in large part by better-than-expected earnings from Amazon and Apple, with both companies remaining upbeat on sales.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite also finished July on a high note, with the tech-heavy index gaining more than 11%.
Even as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates again last week to combat record-high inflation, Wall Street is anticipating a reversal from the central bank in the coming months to ease its monetary policy.
"My view continues to be that markets overexaggerated the near-term US recession risks towards the end of H1/early H2 but that it's undoubtedly coming over the next few quarters," Jim Reid, managing director at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note. "The market has then in July overestimated the ability of the Fed to pivot dovishly over the coming months."
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Monday:
- S&P 500: 4,106.47, down 0.58%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,701.93, down 0.44% (143.20 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 12,316.93, down 0.6%
A slate of new earnings from CVS, Starbucks and Uber are set to hit Wall Street this week, as investors hope that the strength of previous reports continues in August.
And Goldman Sachs says that the strength of the latest earnings is proof that mounting recession fears are exaggerated. The bank wrote in a note Monday that third quarter revenues will edge higher, though the inflation picture is still complex.
Data showing that the US has entered a technical recession sent the dollar lower on Monday, with the greenback sinking to a one-month low against six other key currencies.
Oil prices sank as traders digested weak economic data out of China. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 3% to $95.54 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 2.5% to $101.52.
Gold surged 4.8% to $1771 an ounce. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose 1.6 basis-points to 2.6%.
Bitcoin was lower, changing hands at $23,082.