Stocks closed mixed Monday amid first day trading in the new quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the clear loser while the Nasdaq managed to squeeze out a gain and the S&P 500 was in the middle. Dow Jones stock 3M led while Home Depot weighed on the blue chip index in the stock market today.
Indexes held losses as Treasury yields continued to rise following the strong March Institute for Supply Management report. The ISM index went above 50 for the first time in 17 months.
The benchmark 10-year yield added 12 basis points to 4.33%. The two-year Treasury yield added more than 9 basis points to just over 4.71%, while the one-year Treasury yield added 5 basis points to 5.08%.
This morning, the final March Purchasing Managers' Manufacturing Index came in at 51.9 vs. the 52.5 estimate. And the Institute for Supply Management reported a March reading of 50.3, which topped the 48.3 projected for the index. Readings over 50 on both indexes generally indicate expansion, while readings below 50 signal contraction.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, or around 240 points.
Dow Stocks: Home Depot Tests Key Level
Home Depot ceded 4.1% and tested its 50-day moving average where it found support. On Thursday, the home improvement retailer announced plans to buy SRS Distribution for $18.25 billion. SRS specializes in roofing and building materials.
Home Depot stock had its largest one day decrease since May 31, when it fell 3.1%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Dow stock 3M popped 6% on news its $12.5 billion settlement for contaminated drinking water got final approval by the U.S. District Court in Charleston, S.C. 3M also announced it finished the spinoff of health care business Solventum, which started trading on Wednesday. Shares of Solventum are slated to join the S&P 500 this week.
3M stock topped a handle entry at 91.29, in heavy volume. 3M stock was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 and the Dow in the stock market today.
Dow stock Microsoft advanced 0.9%. The company and its artificial intelligence partner, OpenAI, are planning a data center project that could cost $100 billion. The project was said to include a new AI supercomputer named Stargate, Barron's reported.
In separate news, Jefferies raised its price target on Microsoft to 550 from 465 and held its buy rating on the AI stock.
Stock Market Today: The Nasdaq Ekes Out Last-Minute Gain
The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed enough in the final minutes to post a 0.1% gain in the stock market today. The S&P 500 fell 0.2%. Small caps took a break as the Russell 2000 slid 1%.
Volume fell on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq vs. the same time Thursday, in preliminary numbers. The stock market was closed for the Good Friday holiday.
In Monday's exchange traded fund action, the Invesco QQQ Trust inched up 0.2%, while the Innovator IBD 50 ETF slid 0.5%.
And West Texas intermediate crude oil rose less than 1% to $83.92 a barrel.
Stock Market Today: Trump Stock DJT Plunges
Cameco gapped up after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on the uranium mining stock with a buy rating and a 55 price target. The stock reclaimed its 50-day line as it works on a cuplike base with a 51.33 buy point.
Trump Media & Technology Group plunged more than 21% in heavy volume on news the company lost more than $58 million in 2023, according to a regulatory filing released on Monday. The company operates former President Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. The stock has been volatile since its started trading under the ticker DJT on Tuesday. Shares retreated below the 58.72 buy point of an irregular base, after breaking out but closing lower Tuesday.
Dell Technologies rose nearly 5% as it extends a rebound. The stock gapped up 31.6% March 1 following its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report the day before, then receded for a few weeks.
Meta Platforms, AMD Lead 10 Stocks Showing This Bullish Action
Micron An S&P 500 Leader, Bitcoin Stocks Sell off
Micron Technology climbed 5.5% after Bank 0f America raised its price target to 144 from 120 and maintained a buy rating on the memory-chip stock. The company reported a surprise profit and sales higher than views on March 20. Micron reached an all-time high Monday and was a big gainer on the S&P 500.
Bitcoin's price lost ground and was just under $69,700. Bitcoin-related stocks were lower on the stock market today.
Bitcoin miner and IBD 50 stock CleanSpark gapped down more than 12%, adding to Thursday's 8.2% sell-off. The stock fell below its 21-day exponential moving average as it tested support. The company reported its March results, with 806 bitcoins mined in March, up 24% from February.
MicroStrategy, which owns a large amount of bitcoin, sank 4% in the stock market today. Coinbase fell nearly 5%, while Marathon Digital skidded more than 4%.
Magnificent Seven Stocks: Alphabet Outshines Others
Alphabet surged 3% and broke out of a cup base with a 153.78 buy point. Shares closed in the 5% buy zone up to 161.47. Volume was flat, however.
And among Magnificent Seven stocks, Tesla trimmed larger losses and dipped 0.3%, while Leaderboard stock Nvidia closed flat on the stock market today.
Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on X/Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.
