Investing.com – Wall Street made a subdued start to the week Monday, despite a rise in financials as surging U.S. bond yields supported a rally in bank stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0.06%. The S&P 500 rose 0.18%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose about 0.28%.
JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) stocks closed sharply higher, supporting the broader market, as the United States 10-Year yields hit five-week highs amid both surging Japan 10-Year bond yields and growing expectations for strong second-quarter U.S. GDP.
The rise in Japan's 10-year Treasury yield emerged as Reuters reported that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) was discussing changes to its monetary policy measures in a bid to combat stubbornly low inflation.
Rising Treasury yields are seen as boon for banks, boosting their net interest margin, the difference between the interest income generated by banks and the amount of interest paid out to their lenders.
Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) rallied after the close as it beat Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock posted a modest lost for the day after falling sharply intraday as U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the e-commerce giant in series of tweets, claiming it was using the U.S. Postal Service as its "deliver boy."
“In my opinion the Washington Post is nothing more than an expensive lobbyist for Amazon. Is it used as protection against antitrust claims which many feel should be brought?” Trump said.
Energy remained a drag on the broader market as the sector closed in the red after oil prices reversed intraday gains, shrugging off rising U.S. – Iran tensions.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for September delivery fell 37 cents to settle at $67.89 a barrel.
Renewed trade-war concerns, meanwhile, strained sentiment on equities somewhat amid remarks over the weekend at the G20 Finance Ministers Summit from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
In economic news, U.S. existing home sales slipped for the third month in a row, as tight supply continued to ramp up house prices, deterring potential home buyers.
On the corporate news front, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock closed nearly 4% lower amid reports that the electric car maker has turned to some suppliers for a refund of previously made payments, exacerbating concerns about the company's financial stability. The stock recovered some losses, however, after Tesla said the refund request was for existing projects.
Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) stock and Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) stock closed sharply lower after CEO Sergio Marchionne was replaced as his health worsened. The replacement came just days before Fiat Chrysler is slated to report second-quarter earnings.
Top Gainers and Losers on Wall Street Today:
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and American Express (NYSE:AXP) were among the top Dow gainers for the session.
3M (NYSE:MMM), Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) were among the worst Dow performers of the session.