US Stock Market Overview – Energy Shares Outperform, Boeing Weighs on Dow Industrials

US stocks continued to rally on Monday, as the global stock rally continued to perpetuate. Stocks in Asia were higher led by a robust 2.47% rally in the Shanghai. The Heng Sang and the Nikkei were also higher which spilled over into Europe. The Dow Jones Industrial started the session in the red, and but rallied into positive territory despite pressure from headwinds generated by Boeing.  Federal US prosecutors are scrutinizing the developments with regard to the black box on the Boeing 737 that recently crashed in Ethiopia. FANG stocks were mixed, but a breakout in Amazon shares should help the broader market especially the discretionary sector.

Sectors were mixed on Monday with Energy and Financials leading the S&P 500 higher, while real-estate and Utilities were the worst performers. Facebook was downgraded on Monday and dropped 3.3%, as the digital advertising platform is changing as their platform has been diluted. The company is trying to figure out how to monetize there other platforms including Instagram and Whatsapp.

Energy Shares Continue to Rally Buoyed by Crude Oil

Energy shares were the best performing sector on Monday, led by a 1% rise in crude oil prices. WTI closed above $59 per barrel on Monday for the first time since November of 2018. Oil prices were buoyed by news that OPEC would hold off on changing their output until June. OPEC officials have been signaling that they would consider a change in April but now it appears to be too early to assess the actual impact of the sanctions on Venezuela and the U.S. policy on the waivers for Iranian oil customers after the current waivers expire in early May.

Boeing Continues to Face Negative Headlines

Federal prosecutors and Department of Transportation officials are investigating the development of Boeing 737 MAX jetliners. A grand jury in Washington, D.C., issued a broad subpoena dated March 11 to at least one person involved in the 737 MAX’s development. The subpoena, with a prosecutor from the Justice Department’s criminal division listed as a contact, sought documents to be handed over later this month.

Facebook Was Downgraded by Needham

Facebook dropped Monday after Needham analyst Laura Martin downgraded the stock to a hold rating and warned clients that the recent departure of 11 senior managers could spark further declines in the profitability of the company. Martin wrote that Facebook’s issues with privacy and encrypted messaging, rising regulatory risk and the upload of disturbing content will accelerate the management exodus.

Amazon is Breaking Higher Eclipsing Key Levels

Amazon shares are leading the discretionary shares higher, breaking out of a range that has encapsulated the shares for all of 2019. Prices closed above the pivotal 200-day moving average for the first time in nearly 5-months which helped the entire discretionary sector gain traction.