Stocks opened higher Monday but it was a mixed finish as investors took in disappointing economic data. Still, there was plenty of upside to be found elsewhere, particularly in several meme stocks that surged on another cryptic Roaring Kitty post.
Shortly after the open, the Institute for Supply Management said its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a lower-than-expected 48.7 in May from April's 49.2. Readings below 50 indicate contraction. Moreover, the Prices Paid Index – a measure of inflation – eased to 57.0 from 60.9, but remained well in expansion territory.
Separate data from the Census Bureau showed construction spending unexpectedly fell in April, marking its second straight monthly decline.
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While investors have cheered bad economic data this year in hopes that it will kick-start the Fed's rate-cutting campaign, they "are now reacting to soft data with fear because it could point to a phase of the business cycle in which stocks decline along with yields as economic growth weakens," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.
Next up on the economic calendar is a round of jobs data, starting with tomorrow morning's release of the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).
Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, says he'll be watching to see if "the gap between job openings and job seekers is continuing to narrow, which would help ease wage pressure for businesses."
Berkshire temporarily plummets after a technical glitch
In single-stock news, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, -0.6%) was notably volatile today. Indeed, the Class A shares of Warren Buffett's holding company were halted after plunging 99% on a technical glitch related to the Limit Up-Limit Down (LULD) bands on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The bands were put in place in 2012 to contain extreme price swings in stocks.
The issue also caused similar price drops in shares of gold producer Barrick Gold (GOLD, +1.9%) and industrial stock NuScale Power (SMR, -12.6%).
Roaring Kitty post sends meme stocks higher
Meme stocks were also big movers Monday thanks to a mysterious post of an Uno card by Keith Gill, aka "Roaring Kitty." Gill and his fellow members of Reddit's WallStreetBets are often cited for sparking the massive short squeeze in early 2021 that sparked volatile trading in several highly shorted stocks.
A post on Gill's X account in mid-May helped GameStop (GME) nearly double in value in last month. Today, shares closed up 21% while fellow meme stock AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) jumped 11.1%.
As for the main indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 38,571, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% to 5,283. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, adding 0.6% to 16,828 on strength in semiconductor stocks including Nvidia (NVDA, +4.9%) and Arm Holdings (ARM, +5.5%).
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