Stocks lost some of their momentum in midday trading on Monday but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was on track to break its four-day losing streak, pulling away from the other major averages.
During the afternoon session the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.2%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up about 0.4%. The Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose 1.2% after losing more than 2% last week. Wall Street’s bumpy August has been partly defined by the divergence of major indexes. The Dow has led gains across the three major averages over the past month, with the Nasdaq and the S&P posting just three winning days.
Bond yields edged higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond hovered around 4.3%, near its highest levels in more than a decade.
The moves come as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate campaign is again set to take center stage in an otherwise sleepy week in markets. Fed Chair Jay Powell is set to speak at an annual gathering of bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday. Last week, concerns about the future path of hikes helped drive market losses.
On the earnings front, the highlight Monday is Zoom (ZM). Come Wednesday Wall Street will turn to Nvidia (NVDA), which is looking for an encore after its blowout guidance last quarter, driven by excitement around artificial intelligence technology. Nvidia stock is up more than 200% so far this year.
Trending tickers
Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page in midday market trading on Monday:
NVIDIA (NVDA): Investors are closely watching the chipmaker ahead of its second quarter earnings results on Wednes was higher than anticipated after shareholders were offered ownership in the company’s newly spun-off consumer health unit, Kenvue. Johnson and Johnsn will retain a nearly 10% stake in the new business.
Tesla (TSLA): The electric automaker gained 5% after Baird Equity Research added the stock to its “Best ideas” list, citing the launch of Cybertruck, wider adoption of self driving features, and new markets as potential catalysts.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW): The stock advanced more than 15% on the heels of a surprise earnings beat last week. The company, which decided in early August to shift its earnings announcement to after the bell on Friday, saw shares sink nearly 20% as investors feared the move meant bad news was coming from the cybersecurity giant.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Shares slipped 2% Monday afternoon following an announcement that demand for a stock swap was higher than anticipated after shareholders were offered ownership in the company’s newly spun-off consumer health unit, Kenvue. Johnson and Johnson will retain a nearly 10% stake in the new business.
