S&P 500 Lifted by 90% of Its Shares as Tech Sinks: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Wall Street’s rebound after one of the sharpest-ever stock corrections left the market’s most-influential group behind on Monday.

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More than 90% of the companies in the S&P 500 rose, but most megacaps like Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. came under renewed pressure. An equal-weighted version of the US equity gauge — one that gives Target Corp. as much clout as Apple Inc. — climbed 1.5%. While the latest batch of economic data did little to alter bond traders’ bets on the path of monetary policy, mixed retail sales brought some relief that consumer spending is not collapsing amid the threat a trade war.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, said he’s not worried about the recent downturn in equities as the US seeks to reshape its economic policies.

“I’ve been in the investment business for 35 years, and I can tell you that corrections are healthy, they are normal,” Bessent said Sunday on NBC’s Meet The Press. “I‘m not worried about the markets. Over the long term, if we put good tax policy in place, deregulation and energy security, the markets will do great.”

To Bret Kenwell at eToro, despite the mixed update on retail sales, the data could give investors some cautious optimism that perhaps we might see a more resilient consumer in the coming months.

“If the consumer can hold up, there’s a good chance the economy can too,” he said.

A sign of stability is emerging after the S&P 500 plunged into a correction last week: Traders are ditching bets that another deep slide is ahead.

Even before the benchmark for US equities rebounded strongly on Friday, the group was largely offloading its S&P 500 hedges. The cost of options protecting against a 10% decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust in the next three months plunged to near the lowest level since 2023 relative to contracts that profit from a 10% rally, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Key events this week:

• Germany ZEW survey expectations, Tuesday

• US housing starts, import price index, industrial production, Tuesday

• Bank of Japan rate decision, Wednesday

• Eurozone CPI, Wednesday

• Federal Reserve rate decision, Wednesday

• China loan prime rates, Thursday

• Bank of England rate decision, Thursday

• US Philadelphia Fed factory index, jobless claims, existing home sales, Thursday

• Eurozone consumer confidence, Friday

• Fed’s John Williams speaks, Friday