Stocks continue winning streak as S&P500 nears record high

The S&P 500 rose Monday as the market maintained the momentum seen during its seven-week winning streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed, gaining just 0.86 points, or 0.00 per cent, to 37,306.02. The S&P 500 climbed 0.45 per cent to 4,740.56. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.61 per cent to 14,904.81.

The S&P 500 is now 1.2 per cent away from its all-time closing high at 4,796.56 that was reached in January 2022.

Apple has decided to halt sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United States due to a patent dispute related to the blood oxygen feature technology. This decision follows an order by the US International Trade Commission in October, which raised the possibility of barring Apple from importing its Apple Watches due to patent infringement claims by medical technology company Masimo.

US Steel shares surged 26 per cent after Japan’s Nippon Steel said it would buy the company in a deal valued at $14.9 billion.

Mega-cap tech names such as Meta Platforms gained nearly 3 per cent, while Google-parent Alphabet jumped more than 2 per cent.

As a result, Communication services outperformed in the S&P 500, with the sector up 1.9 per cent. Real Estate was the worst performer.

In commodity-related news, oil prices increased by over 1 per cent on Monday due to disruptions in shipping caused by attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. BP also announced a suspension of shipping through the Suez Canal in response to these attacks by militants in Yemen.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.1 per cent gain.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 8:50 AM was buying 67.07 US cents.

Commodities

Gold added 0.26 per cent. Silver fell 0.22 per cent. Copper lost 1.11 per cent. Oil gained 1.50 per cent.

Figures around the globe

European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE added 0.50 per cent, Frankfurt fell 0.6 per cent, and Paris closed 0.37 per cent lower.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.64 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.97 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.40 per cent lower.

The Australian share market closed 0.22 per cent lower at 7,426.36

Ex-dividends
Kelly Partners Group (ASX:KPG) is paying 0.4392 cents fully franked

Dividends payable
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX:ALL)
Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX:IPL)
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG)
Infratil Ltd (ASX:IFT)
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC)

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

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