U.S. stocks rose in the first session of 2022 and Apple briefly touched a $3 trillion market capitalization, which was enough to push the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to fresh record highs.
The S&P 500 added 30.38 points, or 0.6%, to 4796.56, closing at a new record after a year where it rose 27% and notched 70 record highs along the way. The Dow gained 246.76 points, or 0.7%, to 36585.06, also setting a new high.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 187.83 points, or 1.2%, to 15832.80, but remains 1.4% from its November record of 16057.44.
It wasn’t surprising to see equities come out of the gate strong. Stocks tend to rise at the start of new calendar periods, like the beginning of a new year, because of “new money” like pension funds that invest when a new period starts.
“Today looks like a classic reopening,” said LPL Financial market strategist Scott Brown. He noted that Monday’s gains were being driven by stocks in the energy, consumer discretionary and financial sectors. Shares in sectors that are less tied to prospects for growth, like consumer staples and healthcare, were down.
The most notable gainer was Apple, whose market capitalization briefly crossed the $3 trillion mark in the afternoon, the first U.S. company on record to be so richly valued. The stock finished the session up $4.44, or 2.5%, at $182.01. It would have needed to finish at about $182.86 or higher to close above $3 trillion.
Apple aside, investors are still treading cautiously, as most see a rockier path ahead for stocks this year. The initial rollout of Covid-19 vaccines and the easing of restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus, along with easy-money policies from central banks, helped support markets last year. The unwind of the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program and likely interest-rate increases could weigh on markets in 2022. Stocks have benefited from low rates, which have fueled riskier investments.
While some investors expect that inflation, which reached a 39-year high in November, has peaked, others are worried that Omicron could prolong supply-chain disruptions, adding further pressure to prices.
“It’s going to be a little bit bumpier than 2021. The three big questions that we ended the year with are still here: Omicron, inflation and…
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