Dow leads Wall Street higher as investors eye beyond tech

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Dow Jones Industrial Average led Wall Street higher on Monday and notched its longest winning streak in six years as investors bet on sectors beyond technology in a week filled with earnings reports and a Federal Reserve meeting. «What you're seeing now is people broadening the breadth of the market,» said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. «People are starting to maybe take some profits (in tech) and invest in other parts of the markets that they might see a little bit better bargain.» Investors are awaiting Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet and Meta Platforms earnings this week, which will show whether their stocks justify sky-high valuations.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index has rallied 34.3% this year, outperforming its peers as rate-sensitive megacap growth companies rose on optimism about artificial intelligence and an end to the Fed's tightening cycle. The Nasdaq lagged other indexes as investors looked to non-tech stocks for bargains, lifting sectors from energy to banks. Helping the Dow notch its longest winning streak since February 2017, Chevron gained almost 2% as the oil giant posted upbeat preliminary quarterly earnings over the weekend.

As of Friday, second-quarter earnings are expected to decline by 7.9%, Refinitiv data showed. Investors ignored a survey showing July U.S. business activity had slowed to a five-month low, dragged down by decelerating service-sector growth.