The S&P 500 and Nasdaq market indexes closed at all-time highs Monday as a key inflation gauge declined and a flood of corporate earnings underscored recent bullish economic growth figures.
XThe S&P closed edged up 0.1%, closing just below its all-time intraday high of 2940.91. The Nasdaq also closed at a record, up 0.2%. It hit an intraday high of 8176.08. The Dow Jones industrial average rose less than 0.1%, while the Russell 2000 small-cap index tacked on 0.4%.
Volume on major exchanges fell, with NYSE volume down 8% and Nasdaq off 12%.
Trading was dominated by the flood of earnings reports expected this week.
Alphabet (GOOGL), the parent of internet search and retail giant Google, rose 1.5% during the regular session but slumped 5% in after-hours trading after reporting earnings. Alphabet stock broke above a 1,236.54 buy point eight days ago and ran up 4%. It's now just 1% from the top of the 5% buy zone.
Alphabet has a Composite Rating of 99, the highest possible.
Cloud-Based Software Stock Gains
Cloud-based management software maker Coupa Software (COUP) jumped 0.7% after earlier being up as much as 2.5% on rising volume. Coupa cleared a 100.10 buy point on Friday, and remained in the buy zone Monday. It ranks 13th in the 63 company enterprise software group. That group currently stands at No. 4 out of 197 industry groups.
Workday (WDAY), another cloud-based enterprise software company that moved past a buy point on Friday, edged up 0.4% on lighter volume. The company boasts a 98 Composite Rating and a 96 Relative Strength Rating. Despite its weak 63 EPS Rating, Workday stock reported a 32% gain in EPS for its 2019 fiscal year ended in January. Analysts expect earnings to grow 22% in fiscal 2020 and 33% in 2021.
HubSpot (HUBS) rose 2.7% out of a flat base on a 21% rise in volume, past its 180.10 buy point. Currently 42 on the IBD 50 list, HubSpot stock first became profitable in 2017. EPS rose 256% in 2018, and analysts forecast growth of 28% this year and 44% next year.
Earnings-Related Gap Ups
Supply-chain management software creator SPS Commerce (SPSC) gapped up out of a flat base Friday and briefly rose above the 113.41 buy point, but has since traded below that level. It rose 0.6% on Monday. SPS has a 98 Composite Rating, ranking it No. 5 in its group.
ServiceNow (NOW) rose 2% as it continues to march into new high territory. It gapped up out of a short, tight base last week, and is now extended 8% above its 251.75 buy point. It is No. 1 on Sector Leader list, IBD's most stringent screen for stock quality.
Another stock on the Sector Leaders list, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) moved up 1.4% on half-normal volume. Palo Alto has a 99 Composite Rating and a 99 EPS Rating, both the highest possible for those measures.
Boeing, Intel Continue Slide
Elsewhere, beleaguered jet-maker Boeing (BA) stock dipped 0.3%, despite bullish comments by CEO Dennis Muilenberg. He told shareholders that the plane-making giant is "making steady progress" on its 737 Max jet certification, following two deadly crashes earlier this year that grounded the Boeing planes.
Boeing stock now trades 15% below its intraday high of 446.01 set on March 1.
Chipmaker Intel (INTC) dropped 2.6% on Monday, continuing a slide following last week's earnings report in which EPS rose just 2% and revenue were essentially unchanged. That's Intel's worst combined earnings/sales report since the third quarter of 2015.
Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT) rose 0.2%, despite a mixed earnings report. In the first quarter, EPS of 2.94 beat estimates, rising 4%. Revenue also surpassed analysts' estimates, according to Zacks Research. But despite improved results, analysts noted recent economic weakness and trade uncertainty in China held back Caterpillar's results.
Elsewhere in the stock market today, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) edged up 0.1%.
Along with earnings reports, the Commerce Department reported that the personal consumption expenditures deflator, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, rose just 1.6% in March, down from February and well below the Fed's 2% target.
The Fed will meet Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss interest rate policy. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference after the meeting's conclusion on Wednesday.
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