Dow and S&P 500 reach record highs

The S&P 500 achieved a record closing high on Monday, capping off a successful month and quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 17.15 points, or 0.04 per cent, to finish at 42,330.15. The S&P 500 rose 0.42 per cent, closing at 5,762.48, while both indexes set new records. The Nasdaq Composite also gained, rising 0.38 per cent to end at 18,189.17.

For September, the Dow rose 1.9 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.7 per cent. The S&P 500 increased by 2 per cent, marking its first positive September since 2019.

Turning to US sectors, most saw gains overnight, with energy leading the pack, up 0.83 per cent. Consumer discretionary and materials were the only sectors to finish in the red.

Stocks rallied into the closing bell, recovering from earlier losses triggered by remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He indicated that more interest rate cuts could be on the horizon, but emphasised that the central bank does not follow a predetermined course. If the economy behaves as anticipated, he signaled the possibility of two rate cuts of a quarter percentage point each this year.

This week, market watchers will keep a close eye on labor data for clues about the economy's health.

In company news, EchoStar saw its shares drop 11.5 per cent after DirecTV announced it would acquire EchoStar’s satellite television business.

CVS Health's stock rose 2.44 per cent following reports that hedge fund Glenview Capital plans to meet with CVS executives to discuss strategies for revitalising the struggling company.

Stellantis shares fell around 13 per cent, hitting a new 52-week low, after the automaker issued a profit warning for the full year.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency stocks retreated on the last trading day of September after last week's rally.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7.45am was buying 69.13 US cents.

Commodities

Gold lost 0.33 per cent. Silver fell 1.13 per cent. Copper dropped 1.01 per cent. Oil shed 0.01 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 1.01 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.76 per cent, and Paris was closed.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 4.80 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.43 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite gained 8.06 per cent.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.7 per cent higher at 8270.

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.

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