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Stocks finish higher Monday, wrap winning month

Stocks closed higher on Monday to cap off July on a positive note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 100.24 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 35,559.53. The S&P 500 edged up 0.15% to close at 4,588.96, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.21% to end at 14,346.02.

For the month, the S&P jumped 3.1% to register its fifth consecutive positive month for the first time since its seven-month streak ending August 2021. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained about 4.1% and the blue-chip Dow rose about 3.4%.

— Samantha Subin

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the closing level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 100.24 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 35,559.53. The S&P 500 edged up 0.15% to close at 4,588.96, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.21% to end at 14,346.02.

Stocks finished July on a positive note. The S&P 500 jumped 3.1% to notch its fifth consecutive positive month for the first time since its seven-month streak ending August 2021. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained about 4.1% and registered its fifth straight winning month for the first time since April 2021.

The blue-chip Dow added about 3.4%. Last week, the index posted a 13-day advance that matched its longest streak of gains going back to 1987.

Investors in recent weeks have grown increasingly more hopeful about a soft landing scenario as economic data shows ongoing strength in the labor market and cooling inflation. Second-quarter earnings also continue to trickle in better than expected.

"Earnings coming in not as bad as feared, clearly that's a good thing for the market," said Independent Advisor Alliance's Chris Zaccarelli. "Part of the reason the market's rallied this whole month is that in addition to the good news to the economy that we've seen all year, we're also seeing that corporate earnings really seem to have not been impacted as much as people have been concerned about."

While earnings season is more than halfway through, the chief investment officer is keeping an eye on Thursday's reports from Amazon and Apple, which could "set the tone" for the rest of the market.

"If they give really good guidance, we could see this bull market really continue to pick up speed and even see some momentum heading into the fall," he said.

Last week, the Federal Reserve hiked rates to their highest level in more than 22 years after passing a much-anticipated quarter-point hike. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank will make data-driven decisions on a "meeting-by-meeting" basis.

Along with earnings, investors remain focused on Friday's jobs report. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the U.S. economy to have added 200,000 jobs in July. Nonfarm payrolls increased 209,000 in June.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the closing level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Not enough evidence in price charts yet to justify turning cautious on stocks, MKM Roth says

"There are still plenty of extended stocks combined with euphoric sentiment and overexposure in the near term," JC O'Hara, chief technical strategist at Roth MKM wrote to clients on Sunday in a note entitled, "Bulls 'Whack-A-Mole' the Bears Again."

But, more positively for the optimists, "there is not enough technical evidence to shift the technical environment to one of caution," O'Hara said. Cracks briefly appeared in the market last Thursday after the Dow Industrials' 13-day-long rally, "but buyers were quick to return on Friday, spurred by economic data."

"The price action on Friday indicates there is still some fight left within the market bulls," Roth MKM said.

— Scott Schnipper, Michael Bloom

Stocks finish higher Monday, wrap winning month

Stocks closed higher on Monday to cap off July on a positive note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 100.24 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 35,559.53. The S&P 500 edged up 0.15% to close at 4,588.96, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.21% to end at 14,346.02.

For the month, the S&P jumped 3.1% to register its fifth consecutive positive month for the first time since its seven-month streak ending August 2021. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained about 4.1% and the blue-chip Dow rose about 3.4%.

— Samantha Subin

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the closing level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

GE rally makes shares less attractive, Oppenheimer says

Oppenheimer moved to the sidelines on General Electric after the industrial stock's recent rally.

Analyst Christopher Glynn downgraded shares to perform from outperform. He has no target price for shares.

The downgrade comes despite the company beating Wall Street expectations for its second quarter and raising its full-year earnings outlook. Glynn raised his earnings forecast for 2023, 2024 and 2025.

That's because the stock's rally this year has brought its share price to better align with fundamentals, Glynn said, meaning it may be harder to see upside ahead. The stock has gained 36% since upgrading shares in December.

— Alex Harring

Dow members diverge in July

Dow members are on track to post vastly different performances in July with just Monday's session left in the trading month.

Less than a third of the 30 stocks in the blue-chip average are poised for monthly losses. The Dow as a whole is up more than 3% on the month.

Boeing, 3M and Goldman Sachs have led the index higher this month with gains greater than 10% each. On the other end of the spectrum, Merck & Co. and Verizon have weighed on the average, with each dropping more than 8% in July.

— Alex Harring

Verizon and AT&T slide in July following WSJ report

Verizon and AT&T are on pace to finish July significantly lower after a Wall Street Journal investigation found miles of cables left behind by telecommunications companies contained toxic lead.

Verizon has lost around 8.7% since July began, making the stock poised to see its largest monthly drop since September, when it finished 9.2% lower. It's the worst performer on a month-to-date basis of the 30 stocks in the Dow.

Meanwhile, AT&T has lost 9.3% since the month began. The stock has traded at lows not seen since the early 1990s.

Investors have wondered this month if either stock is at risk of needing to pull back on their dividends.

— Alex Harring

Meme stock ETF headed toward a strong July finish

The Roundhill Meme Stock ETF (MEME) is up 18.8% month to date, on pace for the best month since January, when it gained 25.25%.

The outperformers in the ETF include Upstart, Nikola, Carvana, Rivian and NIO, which are all up about 58% or greater in July. The Meme ETF jumped 4.5% on Monday.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

Jefferies downgrades Carvana, cites worry over profitability sustainability

Carvana will have trouble maintaining its profitability pace, according to Jefferies.

The firm downgraded Carvana stock on Monday, with analyst John Colantuoni warning that the company's higher profitability clip is only thanks to short-term transitory tailwinds.

"We believe GPU [gross profit per unit] is temporarily benefiting from transitory tailwinds like wider wholesale/retail spreads and the timing of loan sales, which we expect to normalize throughout 2H23," Colantuoni said. "We also envision an acceleration in Unit growth next year leading to inefficiencies that further negatively impact per unit economics."

Still, the stock was up 2% in the afternoon trading.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Archer Aviation shares pop on U.S. Air Force deal

Shares of Archer Aviation surged more than 40% Monday after announcing a deal with the U.S. Air Force.

As part of the agreement, totaling up to $142 million, Archer will provide up to six of its Midnight electric aircrafts.

— Samantha Subin

Energy leads July's sector gains

Energy is July's strongest-performing sector in the S&P 500. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund is up 7.7% month to date.

EOG Resources, APA Corporation, Phillips 66 and Schlumberger had the largest percentage gains among among the ETF, with shares all more than 17% higher in July. 

The energy sector rose an additional 1.9% Monday. 

— Hakyung Kim

Hedge funds' 'de-grossing' in July close to record levels over last 10 years, Goldman says

Hedge funds' "de-grossing" activity in July are close to record levels in the last decade, according to Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data.

The funds are racing to sell positions bought with borrowed money, a process called "de-grossing." July is tracking to be one of the largest active de-grossing months for hedge funds in recent years, ranking in the 92nd percentile over the past 10 years, driven by short covers and to a lesser extent long sales, Goldman said.

"All things considered, we believe the signs of capitulation are starting to emerge, and we might be getting closer to the latter innings of the current de-risking episode," Goldman said.

— Yun Li

Busiest earnings week begins

Second-quarter earnings season may be more than halfway through, but a packed week of crucial reports is about to kick into high gear.

Monday ushers in the busiest week of the earnings period, with almost a third of the S&P 500 reporting over the next few days, and results from more than 160 components. Headline reports from Amazon and Apple are slated for Thursday.

Earnings from popular semiconductor names Advanced Micro Devices and Qualcomm are on deck, along with healthcare stocks Merck, Pfizer, Amgen and CVS Health. Reports from travel-related names Uber, Airbnb, Expedia and Norwegian Cruise Line are also due.

— Samantha Subin, Robert Hum

Palantir pops 8% on continued artificial intelligence tailwinds

Palantir shares jumped more than 8% on Monday.

The move in shares comes as the data analytics and software company continues capitalizing on artificial intelligence tailwinds.

Investors in recent weeks have also put their hopes in the Palantir's artificial intelligence platform following positive commentary from CEO Alex Karp during its first-quarter earnings.

William Blair increased second-quarter revenue estimates for Palantir to $551 million from $529 million on Monday. Shares have rallied more than 200% year to date.

— Ashley Capoot, Samantha Subin

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves midday:

• SoFi Technologies – Shares of the fintech company popped more than 17% after it reported second-quarter results and lifted its full-year guidance. 
• ON Semiconductor — The chipmaker jumped 3% after it posted an earnings and revenue beat for the second quarter.
• Sweetgreen — The salad chain's shares jumped more than 8% following an upgrade from Piper Sandler. 

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Regional bank stocks among biggest S&P 500 winners for July

Regional bank stocks led the S&P 500 this month, with many popular names bouncing double digits as investors flocked back to the volatile sector.

Zions Bancorporation is the best-performing stock in the broad-based index, up more than 40% for July. KeyCorp is second best performer, up 31.5%, while Comerica and Citizens Financial have jumped more than 23% each.

Another big winner is Newell Brands, up 28.5% for the month. E-commerce stock Etsy has jumped more than 19%. A handful of oil stocks are also among July's biggest winners, including SLB, Halliburton, Phillips 66 and APA Corporation.

— Samantha Subin

Copper prices climb, on pace for best month since January

Copper was higher on Monday and on pace for the economic bellwether best month since January.

Prices climbed to $3.98 per pound, the highest level since May 1. Prices have also gained 5.87 month-to-date.

Elsewhere, aluminum and and zinc were also trading higher with gains of roughly 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively.

— Brian Evans, Gina Francolla

Appliance maker SharkNinja rallies in public market debut

SharkNinja shares popped 23% in their first day of trading. The appliance maker opened at $30.05 per share and traded at around $36.50 as of 10:56 a.m. ET.

SharkNinja was a direct listing at the New York Stock Exchange after being separated from JS Global Lifestyle, which trades in Hong Kong.

— Fred Imbert, Gina Francolla

Texas manufacturing remains in contraction

Manufacturing activity in Texas languished in July as new and unfilled orders weakened, according to the Dallas Federal Reserve.

The central bank branch's manufacturing outlook survey registered a -4.8 reading for the month, which represents the percentage difference between companies reporting expansion and contraction. That was down slightly from the -4.2 reading in June.

New orders declined to -18.1 and unfilled orders fell to -13.8. Other indicators showed a jump for raw materials prices, while the employment gauge rose further into expansion territory and wages and benefits showed a slower rate of growth.

—Jeff Cox

Tech investor Paul Meeks says Apple will need to 'get aggressive' communicating AI strategy

Apple will need to "get aggressive" communicating its artificial intelligence strategy to justify its valuation, tech investor Paul Meeks said.

"The stock's getting really expensive," Meeks told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday. "At some point, they're going to have to join the rest of the FAANGs and be much more aggressive about articulating their AI strategy."

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Sarah Min

Jefferies downgrades Ford over weak Model E guidance

Jefferies downgraded Ford stock on Monday over the company's lower guidance for a key electric vehicle. The downgrade marks a stark reversal after an upgrade to buy in May.

"However sensible it is to slow down the pace of loss-making Gen 1 sales to preserve returns, the change in Model e guidance is a setback just a few weeks after the May 22 Investor Day for a group that has needed to address volatility in operating performance," analyst Philippe Houchois said.

Shares lost about 1%.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

SoFi pops 17% on earnings

Shares of SoFi Technologies surged more than 17% after the financial services company reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the second quarter and boosted its full-year revenue guidance.

The company reported a loss of 6 cents a share on a GAAP basis, above the loss of 7 cents anticipated by Wall Street, according to FactSet.

Deposits also grew 26% to $12.7 billion at the end of the period.

— Samantha Subin

Oil on pace for best month since January 2022

Oil prices are set to cap off their best month in more than a year.

Brent crude is up nearly 14.2% for the month, while West Texas Intermediate crude has gained 14.8%. The last time both benchmarks posted a gain this big was in January 2022, when they added more than 17.2% each.

Prices also hover near their highest level since April 17.

Oil services stocks are also set for their biggest monthly gain since October 2022. The sector's up 17.5%, boosted by Helix Energy, Nabors and Helmerich & Payne, all up at least 25% for July.

— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla

Stocks open little changed

Stocks opened little changed to start a busy earnings week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near the flatline, while the S&P 500 added 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite traded 0.1% higher.

— Samantha Subin

Morgan Stanley upgrades Adobe on faster integration of artificial intelligence

Adobe hasn't missed out on the artificial intelligence craze, according to Morgan Stanley.

The firm upgraded shares of the software company on Monday, with analyst Keith Wiess pointing to Creative Cloud as a beneficiary of faster AI integration among other products.

"Importantly, GenAI products like Firefly coupled with enhancements to flagship applications renew our confidence in a robust product innovation engine at Adobe," Weiss said.

Shares added nearly 3% before the bell.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Bank of America says 'Magic: The Gathering' will grow Hasbro earnings

Bank of America says Hasbro will benefit from growing consumer sentiment over its "Magic: The Gathering" segment.

The Wall Street firm upgraded Hasbro on Monday ahead of the company's quarterly results on Thursday, lifting shares more than 3.5% before the bell.

"We spoke with several local game stores (LGS), distributors, players, and collectors and were encouraged to hear strong excitement and demand for this set," analyst Jason Haas said. "Collector boxes are currently fetching over $400 on the secondary market and TCGplayer, one of the primary online marketplaces for Magic cards, shows nearly 3x more sell-through than the prior Magic set."

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Adobe — The stock gained 2.7% before the bell after Morgan Stanley upgraded shares to overweight from equal weight and boosted its price target, citing artificial intelligence tailwinds.
• Hasbro — The toymaker added 3.6% before the bell after Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. Bank of America said the company should beat expectations for earnings when it reports on Thursday given the strong demand for the Lord of the Rings Magic set.
• GoodRX — The digital healthcare platform saw shares rise more than 10% premarket after Cowen upgraded the stock to outperform, saying its pharmacy benefit management partnerships help generate a new revenue stream and solidify the company's position in the healthcare ecosystem.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

Goldman Sachs upgrades Chevron

Goldman Sachs upgraded oil giant Chevron on Monday as the company approaches positive free-cash-flow.

"We highlight that from 2024-2026, we expect a sharp improvement in ROCE [return on capital expenditures], production per share growth and FCF [free cash flow] per share, all enabling a top decile return of capital profile in the S&P100," analyst Neil Mehta said.

Shares added 1.6% before the bell.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Brian Evans

Morgan Stanley downgrades Salesforce

Morgan Stanley is taking a pause on share of Salesforce, downgrading the software company to equal weight.

"While confident in Salesforce's longer-term opportunity to further penetrate large enterprises with more vertically oriented solutions, near-term catalysts, including margin expansion and price increases, are now in rear-view mirror," wrote Keith Weiss in a Monday note.

The analyst upped his price target to $278 from $251 a share, reflecting 23% upside from Friday's close. Shares have rallied more than 70% so far this year, but pulled back 1.5% in the premarket.

Weiss also expects artificial intelligence monetization opportunities for the company to take time to come to fruition.

— Samantha Subin

Euro zone GDP beats expectations

The euro zone economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the second quarter. GDP in the region expanded by 0.3%, while economists polled by Reuters expected an increase of 0.2%.

This is yet another sign of economic resiliency around the world. In the U.S., the economy expanded at a 2.4% pace, exceeding a Dow Jones consensus estimate of 2%.

— Fred Imbert

Treasury yields little changed as investors assess inflation outlook

U.S. Treasury yields were mixed on Monday as investors digested the latest inflation data, which could affect Federal Reserve monetary policy, and considered the outlook for the economy.

At 4:45 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was up by just under one basis point to 3.9787%. The 2-year Treasury was down by less than a basis point to 4.8911%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

India's growing commodity demand can make up for the global gap left by China: ANZ

China's growth slowdown is set to hurt global demand for commodities, but India could make up for some of that shortfall, ANZ bank's analysts said in a note.

India's economic growth is likely to outpace China's, and that means India's demand for commodities will likely surge to cover more than half of China's demand shortfall. According to ANZ, energy commodities will see the most significant pick-up.

India's annual demand for major commodities — like oil, coal, gas, copper, aluminum and steel — is expected to rise collectively by more than 5% from now till 2030, the bank estimated. In contrast, China's demand for these same commodities will slow to between 1% to 3%, 

—Lee Ying Shan

China's factory activity contracts for fourth straight month

China's factory activity remained in contraction territory for the fourth straight month, with the purchasing manager's index coming in at 49.3 compared to the 49.2 expected by economists polled by Reuters.

According to the country's national bureau of statistics, the PMI level is also higher than the 49.0 recorded in June.

The PMI for the non-manufacturing sector in July came in at 51.3, compared to June's figure of 53.2.

— Lim Hui Jie

Japan's industrial production in June lower than expected

Japan's industrial output climbed 2% in June compared to the month before, lower than the 2.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The preliminary report also showed that on a year on year basis, industrial output fell 0.4%, a sharp reversal from the 3.1% rise seen in May.

Japan's ministry of economy, trade, and industry said that the production of motor vehicles, electronic parts and devices, as well as machinery mainly contributed to the increase in June.

— Lim Hui Jie

CNBC Pro: China’s electric car game amps up. One stock has doubled this year

Just as Chinese electric car companies may need cash, foreign automakers need the market — not only in China but globally.

Xpeng's cash and cash equivalents nearly halved in the first quarter from the end of 2022, and its deliveries have stagnated at several thousand a month.

Volkswagen isn't faring much better in China's electric car market, with an average of just over 10,000 vehicles delivered each month in the first half of the year. But the German automaker has far more cash.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Evelyn Cheng

Strong earnings so far

So far this earnings season, of the 254 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported numbers, 78.7% reported above analyst expectations, according to Refinitiv. In a typical quarter since 1994, 66% of companies beat estimates, the firm said.

ON Semiconductor, Arista Networks and Western Digital are set to report earnings on Monday. Heavy hitters Apple and Amazon will report later in the week.

— Yun Li