Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Monday as the second half of 2024 began, with investors largely rotating out of technology stocks.
The 30-stock Dow gained 309 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.04%, and the Nasdaq Composite hovered near the flatline.
Technology stocks Microsoft and Alphabet traded marginally lower Artificial intelligence favorite Nvidia slipped roughly 3% and led the broader field of chip stocks including Broadcom, Qualcomm and AMD lower.
Continued excitement surrounding artificial intelligence and stocks such as Nvidia led the S&P 500 to a 14.5% first-half gain, while the Nasdaq Composite rallied 18.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed due to a pullback in the second quarter, adding 3.8%.
SPX year to date
For the second quarter, the S&P and Nasdaq added 3.9% and 8.3%, respectively, while the Dow lost 1.7%. The Nasdaq notched its third positive quarter in a row for the first time since a five-quarter streak ending in 2021.
“This is one of those times we have seen before where ‘good news is good news, and bad news is good news’ for US stocks,” said Kevin Philip, partner at Bel Air Investment Advisors.
Some expect this technology-driven momentum, underscore by the rise of artificial intelligence, to persist at least through the summer, despite some fears that multiples have hit heightened levels.
“[W]hile Artificial Intelligence may seem like just another temporary fad, I believe it is much more,” Philip added. “It has the ability to re-ignite increased productivity for companies, advance technologies in faster and more efficient ways, and create entire new industries with discoveries resulting from the collision of AI and even more powerful computer processing.”
Monday kicks off a holiday-shortened trading week, with the market closed Thursday for Fourth of July. Investors will get a big clue into the state of the labor market Friday with the June jobs report.
