Stocks started the week on a positive note, with the main benchmarks building on last week's strong gains.
Amid a relatively bare economic calendar, market participants sifted through several single-stock headlines – including memory chipmaker Micron Technology (MU) being named a top pick among semiconductor stocks.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5% at 38,852, the S&P 500 was 1.0% higher at 5,180, and the Nasdaq Composite had gained 1.2% to 16,349.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
The main indexes finished last week with gains ranging from 0.6% to 1.4% after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said more rate hikes are "unlikely" and the April jobs report pointed to easing wage pressures.
Today's economic news was fairly light, with speeches from a pair of central bank officials being the only events. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin was one of those speakers.
Speaking at the Columbia Rotary Club in Columbia, South Carolina, Barkin expressed optimism that inflation will eventually come back down to the central bank's 2% target. For now though, the "recent data whiplash has only confirmed the value of the Fed being deliberate," he said.
Buffett & Co. cut Apple stake
While interest rates and inflation were a low hum on Wall Street today, the headlines coming from Saturday's annual Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B, +1.0%) shareholder meeting caused a loud stir.
Notably, the holding company cut its stake in Apple (AAPL) by 13%, to 790 million shares from 905 million at the end of 2023. However, as Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire explained, the move was made because of expectations that "current fiscal policies" are "likely" to cause corporate taxes to go up.
As for his take on the iPhone maker, Buffett said he still thinks Apple is a solid business and investment. AAPL shares fell 0.9% today.
Micron pops after being named a top pick
Outside of Omaha, single-stock news centered on Tyson Foods (TSN, -5.7%) and Spirit Airlines (SAVE, -9.7%), which both tumbled after earnings.
Meanwhile, Micron jumped 4.7% after Baird analyst Tristan Gerra upgraded the memory chipmaker to Outperform (Buy) and said it's a top pick among semis. The analyst sees "meaningful upside ahead" for MU, with "incrementally positive trends" unfolding in dynamic-random access memory (DRAM).
This created a halo effect for several large-cap semiconductor stocks, including Super Micro Computer (SMCI, +6.1%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, +3.4%).
Related content
- Kiplinger's Economic Calendar for This Week
- Final EV Tax Credit Rules Don't Change Much for Consumers
- How To Find Great Dividend Stocks
-
Investing Abroad Could Pay Off — Here's HowCountries overseas are stimulating their economies, and their stocks are compelling bargains.
-
Retire in Belize for Stunning Natural Beauty and CultureBelize offers miles of protected land and ocean, a rich mix of cultures and a chill lifestyle. Best yet — the income requirement is just $2K per month.
-
Why Investing Abroad Could Pay Off
Countries overseas are stimulating their economies, and their stocks are compelling bargains.
-
Are These the Next Stocks to Split?Interactive Brokers' recently split its stock to makes its shares more accessible to investors. Could these high-priced stocks be next?
-
Your Home + Your IRA = Your Long-Term Care SolutionIf you're worried that long-term care costs will drain your retirement savings, consider a personalized retirement plan that could solve your problem.
-
I'm a Financial Planner: Retirees Should Never Do These Four Things in a RecessionRecessions are scary business, especially for retirees. They can scare even the most prepared folks into making bad moves — like these.
-
A Retirement Planner's Advice for Taking the Guesswork Out of Income PlanningOnce you've saved for retirement, you'll need your nest egg to support you for as many as 30 years. For that, you need a clear income strategy, not guesswork.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Swing as Trump Scraps Canada Trade TalksDespite a mid-afternoon slip, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended the day at new record highs.
-
Why Smart Retirees Are Ditching Traditional Financial PlansFinancial plans based purely on growth, like the 60/40 portfolio, are built for a different era. Today’s retirees need plans based on real-life risks and goals and that feature these four elements.
-
To My Small Business: Well, I've Been Afraid of Changin', 'Cause I've Built My Life Around YouWhile thinking about succession planning might feel like anticipating a landslide (here's to you, Fleetwood Mac), there are strategies you can implement to manage the uncertainty and the transition.
