After a volatile session, the S&P 500 index ended its trading on Monday nearly stable, with continued pressure from giant tech stocks and investors awaiting a wave of financial results and critical economic data.
Nvidia and Amazon stocks fell, becoming the biggest burden on the broader index and the Nasdaq index, at a time when news about Huawei's preparation to test a new artificial intelligence processor weighed heavily on market sentiment, amid fears of intensified competition in the chip market.
Markets are awaiting this week the results of about 180 companies listed in the S&P 500 index, including four of the 'Magnificent Seven': Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft, amid questions about how the new tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump will affect corporate profits in the coming quarters.
While Apple and Meta stocks rose slightly, the limited gains helped keep the indices from significant losses, despite the pressures exerted by Nvidia and Amazon.
The S&P 500 index closed up 3.43 points or 0.06% at 5528.37 points, while the Nasdaq index fell 17.35 points or 0.10% to 17365.59 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111.29 points or 0.28% to 40224.79 points, supported by Boeing's stock rise after Bernstein upgraded the stock rating.
Despite the relative stability of the indices, U.S. markets are still down more than 10% compared to the peak recorded last February, with growing concerns about the impacts of the trade war and the prospects of a global recession, which was confirmed by a Reuters survey indicating an increased risk of the global economy slipping into recession this year.
In this context, investors are turning their attention to personal consumption expenditure data in the U.S., the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, in addition to labor market data culminating in the anticipated monthly jobs report on Friday.
On another note, Spirit AeroSystems' stock jumped after Airbus reached an agreement to purchase some of its facilities, providing some support to the aerospace sector stocks.
The outlook remains unclear in global markets, as cautious optimism about the possibility of reaching trade agreements between the U.S. and its partners, especially China, continues to face shocks with every new development in sensitive negotiations whose features are still unclear.