US Stock Market Makes New Highs as the Rally Continues

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Principal Points

• US stocks climb to record closings on positive economic data
• Tesla spikes higher after upbeat deliveries report, GameStop shares fall

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P500 extended their gains on Monday and both ended in record-high territory. Dow Jones, the 30-stock gauge, climbed 373 points, or 1.13%, to 33,527.19, a record closing high. The S&P500 rose 1.44%, or 58.04 points, to close at 4,077.91, a strong move over the 4,000 milestones that also landed in a record closing territory. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.7%, or 225.49 points, and ended the session at 13,705.59. The tech-heavy index is now about 2% from its all-time high reached on Feb 16.

The three stock-market benchmarks went on another run towards higher grounds on Monday, as investors cheered a new round of positive economic data. Following a three-day weekend, investors returned to see a highly optimistic March jobs report and encouraging news from the services sector. Job growth accelerated in March with 916,000 new jobs added to the labor market, while the unemployment rate fell to 6% from 6.3%. Additionally, the Institute for Supply Management’s services index spiked to 63.7% in March, an all-time high, from 55.3%. The jump marked the strongest expansion in economic activity since 1997.

The blockbuster reports bolstered hopes for a sharp economic rebound, which led investors to stocks hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. As businesses are gradually reopening across the states, the second quarter kicked off on a high note. The Dow Jones is higher by 1.6% so far in April, while the S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite have advanced by 2% and 4%, respectively. US futures indicate a slightly lower open on Tuesday, with all three indexes down by around 0.10% each.

Crypto Climbs Higher

Meanwhile, some of the individual stocks making the biggest moves on Monday were Tesla and GameStop. Tesla, the EV maker led by the eccentric billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, published its first-quarter deliveries report on Friday. The company said it delivered 184,800 vehicles so far in 2021. The number is the highest for a quarter and is more than double compared with the previous first-quarter report. Following the news, Tesla shares popped more than 7% at their session high. As trading progressed, the stock’s valuation subsided and closed 4.43% higher. In 2020, the electric-car marker delivered nearly 500,000 vehicles to clients around the globe, its first full year in profit.

GameStop stock fell after the company announced it plans to sell up to $1bn in stock or 3.5mn shares. The aim will be to accelerate the digital transformation, which is among the highest priorities for the video-game retailer in 2021. Shares plummeted more than 19% on Monday in pre-market trading but recovered during the regular trading session. GameStop ended the day down about 3%, at $187.

Over to cryptocurrencies, the total market capitalization of the crypto space climbed over $2tn for the first time. The market value of the emerging asset class has doubled in roughly two months, prompted by increasing institutional acceptance and growing demand by investment banks. Bitcoin continues to struggle to reclaim the $60,000 milestone after it suffered a setback on its second attempt. Presently, the largest digital asset is trading around $59,000.