Investing.com -- The Dow closed lower Monday as weakness in consumer staples and energy offset an Nvidia-led rebound in tech despite a jump in Treasury yields to 16-year highs ahead of potential clues on monetary policy later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, 37 points, Nasdaq rose 1.6%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.7%.
Nvidia leads surge in Technology ahead of results
Tech stocks were led higher by a more than 8% surge in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) ahead of the chipmaker’s quarterly results due Wednesday.
Nvidia has been riding the wave of AI optimism since surprising Wall Street with blowout guidance in the fiscal quarter.
Ahead of the chipmaker’s third-quarter results, some are expecting more of the same amid optimism of an AI-led boost to data center growth.
"While we see hyperscale as being the largest consumer of AI training servers; demand for AI GPUs from entities beyond cloud services providers (emerging AI clouds, sovereign states, large enterprises, etc.) increased substantially from late March through the course of CQ2,” Wedbush said in a recent note.
Treasury yields hit more than decade high ahead of Jackson Hole
Treasury yields started the week on the front foot, with the 10-year Treasury yield surging to a more than 16-year high as investors anticipate that Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell may hint that further work is likely needed to slow inflation following recent signs of healthy economic growth.
“With the market broadly on board with at least one additional rate hike by year-end, Powell is likely to emphasize the need to remain at a sufficiently restrictive level for some time with still ‘significant’ upside risks to inflation,” Stifel said in a note.
Tesla surges on Wall Street praise
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) rose more than 7% as investors bought a recent dip in the electric vehicle maker on the heels of fresh positive remarks from Wall Street.
Baird placed Tesla on its ‘best ideas’ list, outlining several tailwinds -- including the Cybertruck launch, the wider adoption of self-driving software, and ongoing growth in the energy business – that could overshadow concerns about softer margins from recent price cuts.
Palo Alto shines on earnings stage
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) rose more than 14% after the software maker reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and annual guidance that topped Wall Street estimates.
“The results were better than feared and the company's end-to-end cybersecurity platform is set to yield solid financial leverage and more than 35% free cash flow,” Oppenheimer said, adding that the company’s "platformization" of its portfolio can successfully deliver sustainable profitable growth.
Energy, consumer staples stumble
Energy stocks including Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO), Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) and Marathon Petroleum Corp (NYSE:MPC), were pressured by weaker oil prices as worries about the demand outlook continued amid a stuttering economy in China.
Consumer staples, which tend to serve as a bond proxy given the sector's steady dividends, were also hurt by the surge in yields, with Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), and Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL) among the biggest decliners in the sector.