Stocks eke out gains to build on last week’s rally

The Nasdaq climbed 0.3 per cent to end at 13,518.78, the S&P 500 rose 0.18 per cent to close at 4,365.98, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1 per cent, to end at 34,095.86

Stocks eked out narrow gains Monday to build on last week’s strong rally, with the Nasdaq Composite notching its longest positive streak since January.

The Nasdaq climbed 0.3 per cent to end at 13,518.78, while the S&P 500 rose 0.18 per cent to close at 4,365.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 34.54 points, or 0.1 per cent, to end at 34,095.86.

What we are seeing is the market pausing to digest that very strong rally last week, said Adam Sarhan, Chief Executive Officer of 50 Park Investments. You are in a situation where the market’s just pausing to consolidate the recent move and wait for the next bullish catalyst to come out, and that could likely be one of the Fed heads, Powell or earnings.

The Nasdaq Composite notched seven days of wins for the first time since January. The Dow and S&P 500 added for sixth straight day for the first time since July and June, respectively.

Nvidia gained nearly 1.7 per cent, boosted by optimism from BoA ahead of its earnings report. Bumbleshares slid 4.4 per cent after the dating app announced its CEO will step down in January. Shares of SolarEdge Technologies slipped 5.1 per cent on the back of a downgrade from Wells Fargo.

Yields also moved up, reversing last week’s trend, with the 10-year Treasury yield last up 9 bps at around 4.653 per cent.

Stocks are coming off their best week of 2023. The Dow notched its biggest weekly gain since October last year, while the S&P and Nasdaq notched their best weeks since November 2022. A soft monthly jobs report also led bond yields down, giving a boost to equities.

The stock market has had a strong start to November, and the move seems deserved in light of what we are seeing in most, though admittedly not all, of our sentiment indicators, wrote Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

Generally, our view over the last month or so has been that if the jump in yields halted soon, US equities could escape without incurring too much further damage, Calvasina said.