NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks shrugged off early weakness and pushed higher on Monday as investors weighed whether escalating US-Iran tensions would significantly affect the economy.
Stocks opened the session lower, extending Friday's skittishness following the US killing of Qasem Soleimani.But equities picked up support later in the day as investors seemed to remember that market pullbacks induced by unexpected geopolitical events are frequently short-lived. "Almost certainly there is going to be more tensions, Iran will retaliate," said LBBW Karl Haeling."But the bottom line is that markets are voting that this is not going to be a disruption to the economy and corporate profits."The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 11.43 points to close at 3,246.28, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 50.70 points to 9,071.47.
Several large technology companies enjoyed banner days, including Google-parent Alphabet and Salesforce, which jumped 2.5 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively, following analyst upgrades.SmileDirectClub, which sells teeth straightening medical devices, surged 21.6 per cent as it sealed a deal to sell a suite of products exclusively at Walmart. Walmart slipped 0.2 per cent.
Key economic indicators this week include a report on the services sector and the December US jobs report.