U.S. stocks started the week on a higher note as market participates look forward to the signing of the first part of a U.S.-China trade deal. The S&P 500 Index increased to a new midday high on Monday after reports that the U.S. is planning to remove China for a list of countries designated as currency manipulators. The U.S. Treasury Department had designated China as a currency manipulator back in August, a decision that signaled escalating U.S.-China tensions. The decision is expected to be formalized in a Treasury Department report, according to Bloomberg.
Here's how the market settled at the beginning of a big week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.70% or +22.77 points to 3,288.12
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.29% or +82.40 points to 28,906.17
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +1.04% or +95.07 points to 9,273.93
In Major Stock News, Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock rose above 9.5% in midday trading after Oppenheimer (NYSE: OPY) increased its price target for the electric car company to $612 per share from $385. This move sent Tesla's stock price above $500 for the first time. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) also climbed following a call from equity research firm Needham upgrading the chipmaker to hold from underperform. Beyond Meat (NASDAQ: BYND) has continued its rally into Monday, with the stock's hares above $100 in part due to the company's expansion with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD). Ford (NYSE: F) shares dropped over 1% after the company said that sales in China fell 26.1% in 2019. This is the third straight year of decline for Ford in Chinese markets.
In Stock Sector News, every sector but Health Care, who declined -0.35% on Monday, had stock share growth in current U.S. markets. The sector increases are as follows: Materials +1.36%, Information Technology +1.34%, Real Estate +1.24%, Industrials +0.89%, Communication Services +0.78%, Financials +0.73%, Consumer Staples +0.68%, Utilities +0.66%, Consumer Discretionary +0.32% and Energy +0.08%.
Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, oil prices have remained steady on Monday despite further tensions from Iran. Over the weekend, Iran admitted to it had accidentally fired a missile and downed a Ukrainian passenger plane last Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate's (NSYE: USO) barrel prices dropped over -1.70% and Brent Crude's (NYSE: BNO) fell over -1.30% on Monday. Gold's (NYSE: GLD) prices slightly bumped up +0.01%. Finally, the U.S. Dollar took a minimal hit Monday, with the DXY Index declining -0.04%.