The major indexes opened comfortably higher on the first trading day of June, but the latest factory data took some wind out of the bulls' sails in intraday action.
"The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing purchasing managers index rose 0.5 point, to 61.2, in May, reflecting a strengthening of new orders," says Jonathan Millar, deputy chief U.S. economist at Barclays Investment Bank. "Even so, May's report shows a widespread effect from supply bottlenecks, as manufacturers struggle to boost production to keep pace with orders."
However, in an interview with Politico, Fed vice chair of supervision Randal Quarles suggested there will be "different speeds at which supply chains unblock," and that any inflationary pressures that come as a result will likely be temporary.
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This appeared to help ease investors' worries, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending up 0.1% at 34,575, while the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.05% to finish at 4,202 – though well off its session lows.
Other action in the stock market today:
- The Russell 2000 jumped 1.1% to close at 2,294.
- Cloudera (CLDR, +23.9%) was one of the biggest movers on Wall Street today on M&A news. Specifically, investment firms KKR and Clayton said they will take the software company private in an all-cash deal valued at $5.3 billion, or $16 per CLDR share – a 24.4% premium to where it closed last Friday.
- It was another volatile session for AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC, +22.4%) after it sold 8 million shares to investment firm Mudrick Capital Management – which raised $230.5 million for the movie theater chain. The meme stock more than doubled in price in last week's trading.
- U.S. crude oil futures spiked 2.1% to settle at $67.72 per barrel – their highest close since October 2018 – the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed to gradually increase oil output.
- Gold futures ended marginally lower at $1,905.00 an ounce.
- The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 6.8% to 17.90.
- Bitcoin prices slipped 0.3% to $35,959.82(Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
Don't Count Growth Out
The Dow outperformed the Nasdaq (-0.1% at 13,736) today, continuing a recent rotation into value stocks and out of growthier names, of which tech makes up a large part.
However, it's not time to count growth out.
"After a strong finish to 2020 ... shares have been more volatile in 2021 as investors balance positive fundamentals with premium valuations," say Canaccord Genuity analysts Maria Ripps and Michael Graham.
"While we recognize that many covered companies will face more difficult growth comps over the next few quarters, zooming out to a medium-term view shows not only strong top-line momentum but improving profitability, which should reward patient investors that can ride out near-term volatility."
For those looking to position for a resurgence in growth stocks, check out these five value-priced tech stocks or these five large-cap stocks with high upside potential.
Another way to find potential investing opportunities is to see what top stock picks billionaires and other smart-money investors are homing in on. Here, we've compiled a list of 30 high-profile stocks billionaire investors bought in the first quarter – several of which are popular growth names.
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