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U.S. stocks higher as Dow on track to stretch winning streak

Published 08/07/2017, 12:27 PM
Updated 08/07/2017, 12:27 PM
© Reuters.  Wall Street moves higher with Dow set for 10th straight session of gains

© Reuters. Wall Street moves higher with Dow set for 10th straight session of gains

Investing.com – Wall Street traded higher on Monday as the Dow looked set to log its 10th consecutive session of gains.

At 12:25PM ET (16:25GMT), the Dow Jones gained 28 points, or 0.12%, the S&P 500 advanced 2 points, or 0.08%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 28 points, or 0.48%.

The blue-chip index continued to scale higher another all-time record on Monday in a session with no major economic reports for investors to evaluate.

As the second quarter reporting season begins to wind down, investors are entering a phase of looking for the next set of catalysts to determine market direction.

Even as the Dow continued hit new records, markets seemed lethargic. As LPL Financial strategist Ryan Detrick notes, “The S&P 500 hasn’t closed up or down 0.3% for 12 consecutive days.”

Detrick said that the 1966 and 1961 were the previous records with just 10 straight days of such a run and Monday looked set to make a new record of little movement.

With only a handful of earnings out on Monday, Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) jumped 5% after beating on both the top and bottom line.

To the downside, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) lost around 1.5% as the company registered an 11% drop in operating profit, missing analyst estimates.

Struggling retailers, such as Macy's (NYSE:M), Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN), Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS) and JC Penney (NYSE:JCP), will likely be the main focus on the earnings front near the end of the week.

Media companies, like Disney (NYSE:DIS) and News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA), as well as some recent IPOs, including Snap (NYSE:SNAP) and Blue Apron (NYSE:APRN), will also garner some attention as the reporting season winds down.

In other company news on Monday, NxStage Medical (NASDAQ:NXTM) soared more than 20% as German healthcare firm Fresenius Medical Care KGAA ST (DE:FMEG) agreed to buy the U.S. maker of home dialysis devices for approximately $2 billion in cash.

United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) fell nearly 2%, leading the Dow lower, as reports surfaced over the weekend that the firm had expressed interest in acquiring Rockwell Collins (NYSE:COL).

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) also made headlines Monday after the electric car maker said it would raise about $1.5 billion through its first-ever high-yield junk bond offering.

With regard to monetary policy, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard said that “the current level of the policy rate is likely to remain appropriate over the near term”, while indicating that recent inflation data “call into question the idea that U.S. inflation is reliably returning toward target.”

Bullard added during the Q&A that he supported beginning to trim the Fed's balance sheet soon. Experts widely expect the announcement to come in September with an October 1 start date.

Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari will participate later in a moderated question & answer session at 1:25PM ET (17:25GMT).

Meanwhile, oil slumped back from a nine-week high as market players awaited details from a two-day gathering of some oil ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC producers to assess how the group can increase compliance with production cuts that began at the start of the year.

The two-day gathering began Monday in Abu Dhabi will discuss members’ compliance levels to the agreed-upon global production limits that run through March 2018.

Reporters were not allowed access to the meeting on Monday.

U.S. crude futures slumped 1.41% to $48.88 by 12:26PM ET (16:26GMT), while Brent oil traded down 1.22% to $51.78.

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