US close: Markets finish higher amid rosier economic outlook
Wall Street's main indices finished Monday higher as investors gauged the prospects for further advances amid an improved economic outlook for 2018 and buoyant investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session ahead 0.04% at 23,548.42, the S&P 500 was up 0.13% at 2,591.13 and the Nasdaq 100 settled 0.29% firmer at 6,313.61.
On Friday, indices had hit fresh all-time highs following the release of a decent non-farm payrolls report even as the policy sensitive yield on the benchmark two-year US Treasury note continued to tread water near its highest level in years.
Earlier, Credit Suisse's global equity strategy team struck a slightly cautious note on the outlook for stock markets, telling clients they continued to see "upside" for shares over the next "10 months or so", but added that "headwinds may start to appear in the second half of 2018".
"For now, we maintain an overweight stance toward equities, and underweight bonds, noting a risk that the 'final hurrah' could see more of an asset bubble emerge," strategist Andrew Garthwaite and his team said.
Suisse's year-end 2018 target for the S&P 500 was 2,875 points, but Garthwaite said he was "a little bit more cautious" when it came to the back half of next year, seeing scope for a flat market or a "correction".
Strategists at JPMorgan were somewhat more upbeat, telling clients they remained "constructive" on global equities although they believed it "prudent" to lock-in some profits in cyclical stocks.
They also believed US earnings had yet to price-in any prospect of tax cuts.
On the corporate front, shares in CVS Health were among the most active issues, losing 3.54^ after the retail pharmacy giant posted better-than-expected quarterly revenues and earnings.
Michael Kors was also in the spotlight with shares rocketing 14.7% after the iconic fashion brand reported a 26% jump in second-quarter profit, while Cardinal Health slipped 1.84% after it said profit in the first quarter fell 13%.
Stock in mobile operator Sprint finished 11.54% lower after it called off its merger with T-Mobile US.
Shares in chip designer Qualcomm were 1.15% firmer after management confirmed that Broadcom was planning an unsolicited takeover, yet its shares were trading well below the mooted $70 bid price.
Dow Jones - Risers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $100.65 2.33%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $117.04 1.48%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $174.25 1.01%
General Electric Co. (GE) $20.13 0.95%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $164.22 0.93%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $137.71 0.91%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $170.07 0.85%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.70 0.78%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $83.75 0.67%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $56.05 0.59%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.54 -3.96%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $150.84 -1.64%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $243.48 -1.37%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $88.71 -1.09%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.48 -1.09%
3M Co. (MMM) $230.31 -0.82%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.33 -0.65%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $100.78 -0.62%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $86.05 -0.61%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $120.40 -0.57%
S&P 500 - Risers
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.18 14.21%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.45 9.93%
Apache Corp. (APA) $45.74 9.74%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $48.57 9.24%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $26.62 8.96%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $8.07 8.91%
Hess Corp. (HES) $48.23 8.60%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $33.06 7.86%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $78.49 6.30%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $58.30 6.23%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $70.04 -9.79%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $45.15 -6.56%
Church Dwight Co Inc. (CHD) $43.34 -4.64%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $16.67 -4.52%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $54.17 -4.38%
AES Corp. (AES) $10.35 -4.08%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.54 -3.96%
American International Group Inc. (AIG) $62.49 -3.83%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $66.79 -3.72%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $60.87 -3.69%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $309.69 10.40%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $27.45 9.93%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $26.62 8.96%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $50.82 5.72%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $37.39 4.68%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $16.01 4.03%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $24.18 3.91%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $348.40 3.87%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $17.10 3.51%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $58.39 3.22%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $70.04 -9.79%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $55.54 -5.72%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $60.87 -3.69%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $28.90 -3.26%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $151.49 -2.57%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $209.19 -2.24%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $208.86 -1.71%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $115.94 -1.70%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $170.80 -1.52%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $72.38 -1.47%