Investing.com-- The S&P 500 closed higher Monday, underpinned by tech as stocks kicked off the second half of the year on the front foot ahead of a crucial monthly jobs report due later this week.
At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT), Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 50 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while NASDAQ Composite rose 0.8%. The main indices have started the new week--shortened by Thursday's Independence Day holiday--on a positive note, adding to the gains seen in the previous quarter.
For the second quarter, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite added 3.9% and 8.3%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.7%.
Payrolls, Powell in focus
A slew of updates on the labor market including the job openings report due Tuesday and further clues on monetary policy is slated for this week in the run up to Friday's nonfarm payrolls data for June.
The monthly jobs report reading is set to provide more insight into the labor market, whose resilience has also been a key point of contention for the Fed in cutting rates.
Ahead of the nonfarm payrolls data, the Federal Reserve is set to release the minutes of the its June meeting, with many keen for fresh clues on the central bank's monetary policy outlook after the Fed signal that it now only expects one cut this year, from a prior estimate of three cuts.
Fed speak is also on the agenda with Chairman Jerome Powell set to appear at the European Central Bank’s annual forum in Portugal on Tuesday, but the Fed chief isn't expected to offer fresh insight into monetary policy.
"Powell is likely to continue to emphasize that while the latest data point is a step in the right direction, Fed officials will need to see several more positive prints before gaining sufficient confidence to begin cutting rates," Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) said in a recent note.
On the manufacturing front, data showed the U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell further into contraction territory in June, with reading of 48.5, below estimates of 49.2. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
Boeing agrees purchase of Spirit Aerosystems
Boeing (NYSE:BA) stock rose nearly 3% after the aircraft maker agreed to buy Spirit Aerosystems (NYSE:SPR), up 3.4%, for $4.7 billion, ending a lengthy pursuit that was complicated by contracts Spirit had with Boeing's main rival Airbus (EPA:AIR).
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock cut some intraday losses to trade nearly 1% higher after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said ti still sees upside, lifting its price target on the semiconductor, calling it “the most compelling narrative in the AI semis space”.
Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) stock fell 6% after Keith Gill, the stock influencer known as "Roaring Kitty", disclosed a 6.6% stake in the pet products retailer, while GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock fell 4% after Gill was accused of securities fraud in a class-action lawsuit concerning the video game retailer.
Tesla jumps ahead of Q2 deliveries report; Nio rallies as deliveries nearly double in June
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) jumped 6% just ahead of the its second-quarter delivery numbers expected on Tuesday. The Q2 deliveries is expected to reflect the softer electric vehicle demand seen in the first-half of the year, but the EV maker "saw a 'mini rebound' in 2Q which should help Tesla come close to the Street's 435k units estimate," Wedbush said in a recent note.
Elsewhere in the EV space, Nio Inc Class A ADR (NYSE:NIO) rose 6% after reporting that EV deliveries totaled 21,209 last month, nearly double that of the same period a year ago
(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)