U.S. stocks maintained their upward trend in late trading on Monday, with technology shares leading the gains. Investors prepared for delayed employment and CPI data releases while monitoring earnings reports from Coca-Cola and Ford.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 41.49 points, or 0.08%, to close at 50,157.16. The Nasdaq Composite increased by 253.27 points, or 1.10%, finishing at 23,284.48. The S&P 500 gained 44.44 points, or 0.64%, settling at 6,976.74. Earlier in the session, the Dow reached an intraday record high of 50,219.40.
This followed a strong rebound on Friday, which helped recover significant losses from earlier in the week. Last week, technology stocks—particularly software shares—faced selling pressure, and Bitcoin experienced a sharp decline. However, as investor risk aversion eased, major indices regained some ground.
On Friday, the Dow surged by approximately 1,200 points, or about 2.5%, closing above the 50,000 mark for the first time. The S&P 500 rose roughly 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite also advanced more than 2%.
After falling below $61,000 on Thursday evening, Bitcoin climbed back above $70,000 on Friday. Software stocks, including Salesforce, also closed higher.
Overall, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rose 3.5%, marking its first gain since entering bear market territory late last month.
Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist at LPL Financial, commented, "After eight consecutive declines, buyers finally returned to the software sector on Friday, supporting a much-needed rebound as the technology industry approached key support levels near November lows. While this is a step in the right direction, the broader tech sector may remain range-bound until it clearly breaks above December highs."
He added, "For the broader market to make sustained progress, renewed participation from the technology sector may be crucial."
Turnquist suggested that without greater involvement from technology stocks—especially software shares—the S&P 500 may struggle to reach the 7,000 level.
Monday's economic calendar was relatively light, although several Federal Reserve officials, including Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran, were scheduled to speak later in the day.
On Wednesday, investors will closely monitor the delayed January employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Originally scheduled for release last Friday, the report was postponed due to a partial government shutdown. Earlier, ADP reported that private sector employment increased by only 22,000 in January, well below expectations. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipate the closely watched employment report will show an increase of 55,000 jobs in January.
Similarly delayed due to the government shutdown, January's Consumer Price Index data will be released on Friday. Market expectations point to an annual growth rate of 2.5%.
Analysts noted that if corporate earnings reports this week perform well, the recent rotation away from technology stocks may reverse.
Coca-Cola and Ford Motor are both scheduled to release their earnings reports on Tuesday.