MARKET SNAPSHOT: Nasdaq Finishes At Record As Apple, Tech Shares Buoy Wall Street

Tech-heavy index closes just short of intraday high of 6,100.73

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record Monday, with shares of Apple hitting a new high, while the Dow industrials slipped lower as investors digested a raft of economic reports and looked ahead to the start of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Tuesday.

The Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 44 points, or 0.7%, to a record 6,091.60, after touching an all-time intraday high of 6,100.73, less than a week after first reaching the psychologically significant level of 6,000 on April 25.

Apple Inc. shares (AAPL) closed up 2.1% at a record $146.60 after reaching an intraday record of $147.20. The stock is a major component in the three major U.S. stock indexes. The company reports quarterly results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-services-likely-to-top-7-billion-this-quarter-2017-04-26) Tuesday afternoon.

Netflix Inc.(NFLX) shares also hit a new all-time high of $157.70, and closed up 2.1% at a record $155.35. It was the same with shares of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), which closed up 2.5% at a record $948.43, after hitting an all-time high of $954.40 in the session.

The S&P 500 index closed up 4.13 points, or 0.2%, at 2,388.33, with only five of the 11 main sectors finishing higher. Tech shares led the charge, finishing up 0.9%, followed by a 0.6% gain in real-estate stocks. Telecoms were the largest decliners, down 0.8%, while utilities shed 0.7%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average , which dipped in and out of negative territory, finished down 27.05 points, or 0.1%, at 20,913.46, pressured by a 1.3% decline in Boeing Co.(BA) and a 1.2% decline in shares of Home Depot Inc.(HD) Along with Apple shares, Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) shares closed up 1.4%, leading gainers.

Earlier, the blue-chip benchmark briefly slipped into negative territory following comments by President Donald Trump that he was looking at breaking up big banks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-stocks-rebound-from-fleeting-retreat-even-as-trump-said-to-consider-break-up-rule-2017-05-01), with a retreat in financials contributing to much of that dip.

"We're still susceptible to knee-jerk reactions," said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist at Voya Financial, in an interview. "But earnings are still coming in much better than expected, with 12% growth."

Over the weekend, Congress cut a deal to fund the government (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/congress-reaches-deal-to-fund-government-through-september-2017-04-30) through Sept. 30, which includes an increase in military spending, a priority for Trump and his fellow Republicans.

"Investors are relieved that the deal to run the government a little longer is in place," said Ian Winer, director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

The funding agreement also includes $1.5 billion for border security, but says explicitly that the money can't be used to pay for the construction of a new border wall that Trump has made a signature campaign promise.

"The avoidance of a U.S. government shutdown helped markets shift from a neutral to more positive tone overnight in Asia," said Jasper Lawler, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, in a note early Monday. "The Japanese yen extended last week's losses on Monday as geopolitical risk retreated, helping Japanese stocks gain (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japanese-stocks-end-higher-with-key-asian-and-european-markets-shut-for-holiday-2017-05-01)."

In other political news, former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi emerged victorious over the weekend in a key primary election (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/matteo-renzi-on-track-to-win-italys-democratic-party-election-2017-04-30), helping to soothe investors who have worried about disruptions to the status quo in Europe.

Economic news: (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/congress-reaches-deal-to-fund-government-through-september-2017-04-30)Consumer spending was unchanged in March, while personal income climbed 0.2%. The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-inflation-retreats-in-march-from-5-year-peak-2017-05-01), the personal-consumption expenditures index, retreated from a five-month peak in March. The PCE index fell 0.2% to mark the first decline in more than a year.

A Markit report on manufacturing came in at 52.8. The ISM manufacturing index fell to 54.8 in April, while construction spending declined 0.2% in March.

Check out:

Later in the week, investors face more possible market catalysts, as the Federal Reserve is due to make a policy announcement on Wednesday and the April jobs report arrives Friday.

See:Fed, jobs data and Apple earnings to keep investors busy (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-jobs-data-and-apple-earnings-will-keep-stock-market-investors-busy-2017-04-29)

Individual movers: Shares in WGN America parent Tribune Media Co.(TRCO) finished up 6% following reports that 21st Century Fox Inc.(FOX) and private-equity firm Blackstone Group(BX) are in talks about a joint bid to buy the broadcaster (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fox-blackstone-may-launch-joint-bid-for-tribune-media-report-2017-04-30).

Neurotrope Inc.(NTRP) shares plummeted (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/neurotrope-stock-drops-34-on-midstage-trial-results-for-alzheimers-drug-2017-05-01) 63% after the company released mid-stage clinical trial results for an Alzheimer's disease drug that were criticized by investors.

Ahead of the open, pay TV company (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dish-network-profit-beat-expectations-but-sales-missed-as-subscribers-dropped-2017-05-01)Dish Network Corp.(DISH) and drug distributor (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cardinal-health-reports-q3-profit-beat-revenue-miss-2017-05-01)Cardinal Health Inc.(CAH) both reported quarterly profit that beat expectations, but sales that missed forecasts. Dish shares closed down 2.3%, and Cardinal shares were down 0.6%.

Other markets:Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-prices-fall-extending-weak-april-tone-2017-05-01) dropped 1% to settle at $8.84 a barrel, their lowest level in five week, while gold futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-trades-lower-set-to-snap-2-session-advance-2017-05-01) settled down 1% at $1,255.50 an ounce, their lowest settlement in three weeks. A key dollar index was slightly higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 4 basis points to 2.326%.

--Victor Reklaitis in London contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 01, 2017 16:43 ET (20:43 GMT)