Stocks ended mixed on Wall Street Monday following the latest signal showing the US economy is slowing.
- The S&P 500 edged up by 5.89 points, or 0.1%, to 5,283.40, even though the majority of stocks within the index fell.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 115.29, or 0.3%, to 38,571.03.
- The Nasdaq composite rose 93.65, or 0.6%, to 16,828.67.
Several tech stocks including Nvidia ended higher, but stocks of oil-and-gas producers fell after the price of crude tumbled. Treasury yields slid in the bond market after a report showed that US manufacturing shrank in May for the 18th time in 19 months.
A slowing economy would mean less growth in demand for fuel, and the price for a barrel of US crude dropped 3.6%. Brent crude, the international standard, also fell 3.4% despite moves over the weekend by Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries meant to prop up its price. Halliburton tumbled 5.3%, and Exxon Mobil sank 2.4%. They helped overshadow some big moves by some familiar stars on Wall Street. Nvidia climbed another 4.9% to bring its gain for this year to 139% after unveiling new products and services over the weekend. Nvidia was by far the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 upward.
The jump was even bigger in another corner of Wall Street well accustomed to stomach-churning swings, both up and down. GameStop soared 21% in a move reminiscent of its early 2021 rocket ride that shook Wall Street and brought the term "meme stock" into the parlance of our times. GameStop jumped after a Reddit account associated with a central character in the 2021 episode said it had built a stake of 5 million shares, along with options to buy more. The post from Sunday night said the position was worth $181.4 million. Other meme stocks also rose Monday, including a 11.1% climb for AMC Entertainment.
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In a more traditional move for the market, Stericycle jumped 14.6% after Waste Management said it would buy the medical-waste company for $5.8 billion in cash and assume $1.4 billion of its net debt. Waste Management fell 4.5%. Hertz Global sank 5.3% after it said its chief operating officer is leaving and named a new chief financial officer.
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