The S&P 500 rose on Monday as investors tried to carry the market’s strong May momentum into the new month.
The broad market index climbed 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 13 points lower.
Nvidia ticked more than 3% higher after announcing a new suite of artificial intelligence chips, succeeding the previous model by just three months.
Elsewhere, The U.S. manufacturing sector showed signs of shrinkage last month, with the ISM manufacturing index measuring 48.7 in May, which sent yields lower.
A reading below 50 is an indication of a contraction.
Wall Street is coming off a strong May, with all three major averages notching their sixth positive month in seven. The Nasdaq rose 6.9%, its best month since November 2023.
However, the rally seemed to lose steam near the end of the month.
The three averages all closed May more than 1% below their record highs, even with the Dow adding more than 500 points on Friday.
The Nasdaq fell 1.1% last week as chip stocks, including Nvidia, stumbled.
“Despite the S&P 500 and NDX closing close to all-time highs on Friday, with technicals still stretched, little fear baked in, and sentiment looking optimistic, we’re sticking with our call for volatility to pick up over the summer,” Wolfe Research chief investment strategist Chris Senyek wrote on Monday.
The first week of June is brimming with further economic updates. Investors also await private payroll data on Thursday from ADP followed by a key jobs report on Friday.
“It’s definitely a wait and see environment,” said Dylan Kremer, chief investment officer at Certuity. “But with the earnings data now behind us, I think we’re going to see a trend higher in risk assets.”
