U.S. stock indexes closed higher on Monday, with gains concentrated in Industrials, Consumer Services and Basic Materials. At the New York Stock Exchange close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.05%, the S&P 500 rose 0.54%, and the NASDAQ Composite increased 0.56%.
Within the Dow, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was the session's strongest performer, adding 5.10% - a 33.55 point rise - to finish at 690.91. Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) advanced 4.14%, or 4.93 points, ending at 124.07, while Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained 4.04%, or 10.48 points, to close at 270.01.
On the downside for the Dow, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) dropped 7.40%, a decline of 8.35 points, to 104.45 at the close. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) slipped 2.89%, losing 5.52 points to end at 185.61, and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) fell 1.61% or 2.84 points to 174.06.
The S&P 500's top contributors included Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL), which rose 8.08% to 32.45, Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC), up 7.98% to settle at 270.21, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NCLH), which gained 7.63% to close at 23.64. Among S&P 500 laggards, Disney led losses at -7.40% to 104.45, EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) lost 5.17% to settle at 54.75, and Axon Enterprise Inc (NASDAQ:AXON) declined 4.88% to 459.99.
The NASDAQ Composite saw pronounced moves among smaller-cap and micro-cap listings. American Rebel Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AREB) was the session's biggest gainer on the exchange, surging 606.78% to 1.96. DarkIris Inc (NASDAQ:DKI) climbed 192.49% to 0.95 and Fusemachines Inc (NASDAQ:FUSE) jumped 70.89% to close at 2.70. Conversely, eLong Power Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:ELPW) fell 90.39% to 1.34, Phoenix Asia Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:PHOE) lost 86.78% to 17.60, and INLIF Ltd (NASDAQ:INLF) declined 70.06% to 0.43.
Market breadth favored advancers. On the NYSE, 1,567 stocks rose while 1,172 fell and 90 finished unchanged. On the Nasdaq, 1,966 names advanced, 1,424 declined and 193 were unchanged.
Several notable security milestones were recorded. Axon Enterprise shares fell to 52-week lows, dropping 4.88% or 23.59 to 459.99. Caterpillar and Walmart each climbed to new all time highs, with Caterpillar gaining 5.10% or 33.55 to reach 690.91 and Walmart rising 4.14% or 4.93 to 124.07. By contrast, American Rebel Holdings reached an all time low, increasing 606.78% or 1.68 to 1.96.
Volatility measures and commodities reflected the market's risk posture. The CBOE Volatility Index, which tracks implied S&P 500 options volatility, fell 6.31% to 16.34. Gold Futures for April delivery declined 0.95% or 45.01 to $4,700.09 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for March delivery decreased 4.57% or 2.98 to $62.23 a barrel, while the April Brent contract slid 4.27% or 2.96 to trade at $66.36 a barrel.
Currency markets showed dollar strength. EUR/USD was down 0.48% to 1.18 and USD/JPY rose 0.52% to 155.58. The US Dollar Index Futures advanced 0.61% to 97.45.
Separate from intraday market moves, a services-related note in the briefing highlighted an investment research product and its recent track record. It reported that, year to date, two out of three global portfolios managed by the service are outperforming their benchmark indexes with 88% of portfolios in positive territory. The note also stated that its flagship "Tech Titans" strategy reportedly doubled the S&P 500 within an 18-month period and cited past winners such as Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%).
The day closed with a mix of sector leadership and individual volatility, as industrial and consumer-service names powered the headline gains while energy, certain entertainment and several small-cap listings produced outsized losses.