U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the S&P 500 gaining more than 1% on Monday.

The Dow traded up 1.06% to 53,043.92 while the NASDAQ rose 1.88% to 25,851.08. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 1.24% to 7,582.50.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares jumped by 4.1% on Monday.

In trading on Monday, energy stocks fell by 1.2%.

Top Headline

The ISM manufacturing PMI surged to 55.6 in July from 53.3 in the previous month, topping market estimates of 54.0 and recording the strongest growth in factory activity since May 2022.

Equities Trading UP
           

  • Hydrofarm Holdings Group Inc (NASDAQ:HYFM) shares shot up 357% to $2.47 after the company announced the sale of it Aurora Peat unit for $16 million, with proceeds going to pay down term loan debt.
  • Shares of Atkore Inc (NYSE:ATKR) got a boost, surging 28% to $93.42 after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results. Also, the company will be acquired by Prysmian.
  • Reliance Global Group Inc (NASDAQ:EZRA) shares were also up, gaining 107% to $3.76 after the company announced the sale of its Altruis Benefit Consulting unit for $11 million in cash.

Equities Trading DOWN

  • eLong Power Holding Ltd (NASDAQ:ELPW) shares dropped 48% to $0.091 after the company announced pricing of $1.38 million public offering.
  • Shares of Sportradar Group AG (NASDAQ:SRAD) were down 19% to $11.84 after the company reported worse-than-expected second-quarter financial results and cut its FY26 sales guidance below estimates
  • GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) was down, falling 11% to $19.28. The company announced it will cut debt by $1.4 billion through a stock exchange deal.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 7.1% to $78.64 while gold traded down 0.5% at $4,087.50.

Silver traded down 1.1% to $57.160 on Monday, while copper fell 0.1% to $6.4595.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 gained 0.3%, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 0.6% London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1%, Germany’s DAX gained 1.5%, while France’s CAC 40 gained 1.3%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mixed on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.94%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rising 0.48%, China’s Shanghai Composite declining 0.59% and India’s BSE Sensex gaining 0.70%.

Economics

  • The S&P Global manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 53.9 in July versus the preliminary reading of 53.8.
  • The ISM manufacturing PMI surged to 55.6 in July from 53.3 in the previous month, topping market estimates of 54.0 and recording the strongest growth in factory activity since May 2022.

Photo via Shutterstock