U.S. stock indexes sprinted ahead Monday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 scoring new highs.
The Nasdaq advanced 0.9%, while the S&P 500 stayed close with a 0.7% gain. The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average added 0.5%. The small-cap Russell 2000 trailed with a 0.3% pop. Volume in the stock market today was down about 10% on the NYSE and 5% on the Nasdaq.
Oil prices leapt about 4%, and the NYSE energy sector index rose 2.3%.
Although the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both pegged all-time highs, it wasn't clear if that would stick, because the indexes are just barely at new highs.
Initial public offering The Trade Desk (TTD) cleared a 29.57 buy point in a double-bottom base. Because the stock debuted Sept. 21 on the Nasdaq, it doesn't yet have a 50-day moving average. But daily dollar volume is more than $20 million, an amount that suggests institutional participation.
Trade Desk is a digital ad company. The company grew earnings 100% to 20 cents a share in Q2, on a year-ago basis. In Q3, earnings increased 71% to 24 cents a share. The Street expects earnings to check in at 88 cents a share, a 105% increase, in full year 2016. But 2017 earnings are expected to dip 3%.
Strength among IPOs is a good sign for the stock market. Since Jan. 1, the IBD New Issues Index is up 7.3%.
Meanwhile, blue chip winners outpaced losers by a 3-1 ratio. The biggest gainer on the 30-stock Dow was IBM (IBM), which rose 1.6% in average volume. The stock cleared a handle, but the handle showed some bearish wedging action. IBM lacks elite ratings. The stock has an EPS Rating of 38, which means 62% of the stocks in IBD's database are growing earnings faster.
In the IBD 50, a proxy for top rated stocks, advancing issues led losers by a 7-to-2 ratio. The biggest gainer was financial security specialist LifeLock (LOCK), which jumped 15% on news that Symantec (SYMC) would acquire it for $2.3 billion in cash. Symantec rose 4% in heavy volume.
In the S&P 500, the day's biggest gainer was Marathon Petroleum (MPC). The big-cap oil company broke out of a base with an 8% gap up.
Economic news was on the slow side. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell 0.08, which was at least better than the 0.23 drop expected.
Comments from current and former Federal Reserve members suggested that a December interest rate hike is all but certain. In Dallas, former Fed member Richard Fisher told CNBC, "The mantra has become low interest rates for too long is doing enormous damage to the infrastructure, the financial infrastructure." Stanley Fischer, the Federal Reserve's vice chair, appearing before the Council on Foreign Relations, said the right kind of government spending could boost the economy.
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