Tech leads market higher, travel stocks falter, Walmart climbs

U.S. equities started the week with slight gains on Monday, lifted by advances in mega-cap technology darlings Apple and Microsoft.  However, worries about a resurgence in coronavirus cases kept the gains in check. 

• Nasdaq closed up 1.11% for its 11th positive day in 12 at a new record close of 10,056.47 and only its 2nd close above 10K and its 20th record close this year
• Nasdaq is up 12.08% year to date
• Nasdaq is up 51.65% from its 52-week low of 6,631.42 on March 23
• S&P 500 closed up 0.65% for its second positive day in three
• S&P 500 is down 3.5% year to date
• S&P 500 is 42.25% above its 52-week low of 2,191.86 on March 23
• Seven out of 11 sectors were positive today led by tech up 1.67%
• Dow closed up 0.59% for its first positive day in four
• Dow is down 8.81% year to date
• Dow is 42.89% above its 52-week low of 18,213.65 on March 23 —Francolla, Pound

All three major indexes finished in positive territory on Monday, led by the Nasdaq up 1.1%. The Dow gained 152 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.7%. —Pound

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference Monday that the coronavirus is spreading at an “unacceptable rate” in the state, according to NBC 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth. Abbott warned during the news conference that the virus is spreading among younger people in settings such as bars. —Pound

U.S. stocks may be on pace for a solid start to the week, but that’s coming under thin trading. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the broader market index, had traded just over 56 million shares with less than one hour left in the trading session. That’s well below the ETF’s 30-day volume average of 105.01 million. Volume across exchanges was not much better. FactSet data shows U.S. composite volume sat around 7.3 billion shares traded, below a 50-day average of 10.2 billion. —Imbert

With roughly one hour left in the trading session, the major average were headed for solid gains to start the week. The Dow was up more than 100 points, or 0.7%, while the S&P 500 also traded 0.7% higher. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.1%. —Imbert

Apple said Monday it will stop using chips built by Intel on Mac computers. Instead, the company will use its own. This change, according to Apple, will let the company offer faster performance on its computers. Apple’s first computers without Intel chips will be released before the end of 2020. Apple shares remained higher while Intel’s stock traded near its session high. —Imbert, Leswing

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted on Monday that casinos in the state can reopen starting July 2 at an operating capacity of 25%. This could benefit Caesars Entertainment, owner of the…