Nasdaq breaks losing streak as stocks power through rough August: Stock market news today

Stocks regained their footing on Monday, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite broke its four-day losing streak, leading Wall Street into the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained about 0.7%. The Nasdaq (^IXIC) rose 1.6% after losing more than 2% last week. Wall Street’s bumpy August has been partly defined by the divergence of major indexes. The Dow has led gains across the three major averages over the past month. But the Nasdaq and the S&P each posted their fourth winning day after the bell. A host of tech companies gained ground despite uncertainty over the economy and a souring mood over the Fed’s interest rate policy. Bond yields edged higher, continuing a historic climb and signaling that investors are bracing for a longer period of elevated rates. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond hit 4.34%, matching levels not seen since before the financial crisis. Later this week the Federal Reserve’s interest rate campaign is again set to take center stage. Fed Chair Jay Powell is set to speak at an annual gathering of bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday. Last week, concerns about the future path of hikes helped drive market losses. On the earnings front, Zoom (ZM) is slated to report earnings after the market close. Come Wednesday, Wall Street will turn to Nvidia (NVDA), which is looking for an encore after its blowout guidance last quarter, driven by excitement around artificial intelligence technology. Nvidia stock is up more than 200% so far this year, including a 9% surge Monday.

Trending tickers

Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page in midday market trading on Monday: NVIDIA (NVDA): Shares climbed 8.5%. Investors are closely watching the chipmaker ahead of its second quarter earnings results on Wednesday. Tesla (TSLA): The electric automaker gained more than 7% after Baird Equity Research added the stock to its “Best ideas” list, citing the launch of Cybertruck, wider adoption of self driving features, and new markets as potential catalysts. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): Thestock advanced almost 15% on the heels of a surprise earnings beat last week. The company, which decided in early August to shift its earnings announcement to after the bell on Friday, saw shares sink nearly 20% as investors feared the move meant bad news was coming from the cybersecurity giant. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Shares slipped 3% Monday following an announcement that demand for a stock swap was higher than anticipated after shareholders were offered ownership in the company’s newly spun-off consumer health unit, Kenvue. Johnson & Johnson will retain a nearly 10% stake in the new business.