S&P 500 and Nasdaq On Track to Extend Losses and Trim May Gains

Barry Adams
31 May, 2024
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street struggled, and tech stocks led the decliners after the alternative measure of inflation showed little change. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite declined more than 0.5%, but both indexes are set to close higher for the month. 

The S&P is likely to close up more than 3%, and the Nasdaq Composite is expected to close up more than 7% in the month of May. 

However, May's gains were significantly impacted by a 20% surge in Nvidia, after the company at the center of artificial intelligence reported blockbuster revenue and earnings last week. 

On the economic front, the personal consumption expenditure price index, or PCE price index, rose at the same pace as in the previous month in April, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday. 

The PCE price index increased at an annual pace of 2.7% in April, matching the four-month high rate in March. 

The core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy prices, held steady at 2.9%, matching the rate in the previous two consecutive months. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 index fell 0.5% to 5,210.69, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1% to 16,557.79. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 4.95%, 10-year Treasury notes decreased to 4.56%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged higher to 4.68%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.16 to $77.55 a barrel, and natural gas prices eased 4 cents to $2.52 a thermal unit.

Gold decreased by $0.15 to $2,343.80 an ounce, and silver rose 11 cents to $31.29. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. currency against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 104.63.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Dell Technologies plunged 17% to $140.75 after the personal computer and server maker reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. 

The stock declined after the company guided gross margin, which is likely to ease by 150 basis points in the fiscal year 2025. 

Zscaler soared 16.4% to $182.35 after the cloud security company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue in the fiscal third quarter. 

MongoDB dropped 23.5% to $236.96 after the database platform for developers reported better-than-expected first quarter results but guided weaker-than-expected second quarter and full-year results. 

Ulta Beauty jumped 9.2% to $421.0 after the company reported strong quarterly results and issued a cautious outlook. 

Total revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter soared 71% to $321.1 million, driven by a broad rebound in cosmetics, skin care, and services across all channels. 

Diluted earnings per share jumped 53% to 26 cents. 

Gap Inc. jumped 23.5% to $27.83 after the apparel retailer swung to profit and raised its outlook. 

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter increased 3% to $3.4 billion, driven by a 5% increase in Old Navy stores. Comparable same-store sales advanced by 3%. 

Net income in the quarter swung to a profit of $152 million from a loss of $18 million, and diluted earnings per share were 41 cents from a loss of 5 cents a year ago. 

The retailer guided fiscal second quarter sales to rise in low single digits and full-year sales to rise slightly from the previous estimate of flat sales. 

Nordstrom declined 1.7% to $20.70 after the luxury department store operator reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results.

Comparable store sales for the discount store chain Rack rose 7.9%, and the company's namesake brand chain sales increased 1.8%.