A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 4, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures were flat Monday night after the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 38,000 for the first time ever.
Dow futures fell by 21 points, or 0.05%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.01%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.03%.
In extended trading, United Airlines rose more than 6% after reporting strong fourth-quarter results. However, the airline operator said it expects a first-quarter loss from the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes, the model involved in the Alaska Airlines emergency earlier this month. At its Tuesday earnings call, United will likely field questions about the grounding and any compensation from Boeing.
Shares of other airline operators rose in tandem with United Airlines. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines each added more than 3%. Alaska Air Group and Delta Air Lines climbed roughly 2% each.
Monday was a notable trading session for the major averages. The 30-stock Dow advanced more than 100 points, or 0.4%, to hit a new record and close above 38,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, also hitting a new all-time high. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%.
Those moves add to the S&P 500’s advance after the broad market index officially reached bull market territory on Friday, topping both its previous intraday and closing all-time highs from January 2022.
But investors are deliberating how long the gains can persist, especially as the rally this year has centered around tech stocks such as Nvidia, while broader participation has continued to disappoint. This month alone, Nvidia is up by 20%. In contrast, the small-cap Russell 2000 is lower by 2%.
“The market is priced to perfection right now, I mean, we just hit all-time highs today,” Cheryl Young, private advisor at the Rockefeller Global Family Office, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Monday. “So, any kind of shocks could cause some pretty big pullbacks here. So, I still love most of these Magnificent Seven names, but I’m adding protection right now.”
Corporate earnings season continues this week. On Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Lockheed Martin are set to report before the open. Netflix will release results after the close.
