* Manufacturing PMI weakens in June
* S&P 500 Banks index at one-month high
* Tesla up 7% ahead of Q2 delivery data
* Chewy drops despite Keith Gill’s stake disclosure
* Indexes: Dow flat, S&P up 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.57%
(Updated at 2:31 p.m. ET/1831 PM GMT)
July 1 (Reuters) –
Megacap growth stocks led by Apple and Tesla lifted the
tech-heavy Nasdaq on Monday, while the Dow and the S&P 500 were
little changed in light pre-holiday trading as investors waited
for U.S. labor market data due later this week for clues about
the interest rate outlook.
Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.com
rose between 2.5% and 1.3%, and were the biggest boosts to the
Nasdaq.
Shares of automaker Tesla gained about 7% to
$212.2, hitting the highest in more than five months ahead of
second-quarter vehicle delivery data.
Wells Fargo added Tesla stock to its third-quarter
“Tactical Ideas list” even as it kept “underweight” rating and
expressed concerns of declining delivery growth, price cuts
risk.
Tesla was expected to deliver 438,019 vehicles for
April-June period, in the average forecast of 12 analysts polled
by LSEG. Seven of them have slashed their expectations in past
three months.
Shares of semiconductor maker Advanced Micro Devices
fell about 3% while Arm Holdings fell 2.7%, pulling the
Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index close to a one-week
low.
Real estate stocks, also seen as a bond proxy,
dropped almost 1% as U.S. Treasury yields jumped to multi-week
highs. But higher yields often boost bank profits so the S&P 500
banks index jumped to a more than one-month peak.
JP Morgan Chase shares were at an all-time high
after the biggest U.S. bank on Friday hiked its dividend to
$1.25 a share from $1.15. Its board also authorized $30 billion
in new share buybacks, effective July 1.
Trading volumes were thin, with the equity market set to
shut on Thursday for U.S. Independence Day, and that is expected
to continue all week.
Manufacturing PMI data from the Institute for Supply
Management showed manufacturing contracted for a third straight
month in June, while prices paid dropped to a six-month low in
an encouraging sign for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s battle with
inflation.
“While manufacturing is contracting, the rest of the economy
is in decent shape … the Fed wants the economy to keep running
in low gear near-term. They will see ongoing softness in
manufacturing as contributing to their goal of less inflation,”
Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, said.
Traders have stuck to their bets of around two interest rate
cuts this year, starting from September, LSEG FedWatch showed.
Also scheduled for the week are JOLTS job openings data on
Tuesday, and ADP employment, factory orders, ISM services PMI
data and minutes of the Fed’s latest policy meeting on
Wednesday. Non-farm payroll data is due on Friday.
Fed New York President John Williams noted he continues to
believe price pressures are moderating back to the 2% target.
At 02:31 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose
22.98 points, or 0.06%, to 39,141.84, the S&P 500 gained
6.23 points, or 0.11%, to 5,466.71 and the Nasdaq Composite
gained 101.40 points, or 0.57%, to 17,834.01.
On Friday, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 notched their third
straight quarterly gains, with the tech-heavy index doing so for
the first time in three years. However, the Dow’s quarterly
decline raised concerns about the need for greater
diversification in investor holdings.
Spirit AeroSystems gained 3.6% following Boeing’s
deal to buy back the fuselage supplier for $4.7 billion
in stock. Boeing’s shares rose 2.6%.
Chewy dropped about 4%, reversing sharp early
gains, after stock influencer Keith Gill, also known as “Roaring
Kitty”, disclosed a 6.6% stake in the pet products retailer.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.97-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. There were 131 new highs and 82 new lows on the
NYSE.
The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 37 new highs and 135 new lows.
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru and
Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)