Here are Monday’s best stock-market performers as airlines and cruise lines shine
[MarketWatch]
U.S. stocks staged a strong, broad rally on Monday, as investors cheered the continued reopening of the U.S. economy and good news about coronavirus vaccine trials from Moderna Inc.
The S&P 500 airlines industry group surged 14.3% as data from the Transportation Security Administration showed air passenger traffic had risen for four straight weeks. Riding on the coattails of the airlines was the S&P 500 hotels, resorts and cruise lines industry group, which leapt 13.4% on the day.
The S&P 500 airlines as a group are still down 61% this year, while the hotels, resorts and cruise lines industry group is down 51% for 2020, according to FactSet.
Among major benchmarks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA+3.85% climbed 912 points, or 3.9%, to close at 24,597.37. The index is now down 13.8% for 2020 after bottoming on MARCH 23. (All figures in this article exclude dividends.)
The S&P 500 index SPX+3.15% soared was lifted 3.2% and ended down 8.6% for 2020.
The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP+2.44% rose 2.4% and now shows a gain for 2020 of 2.9%. Shares of Moderna MRNA+19.96% soared 20% after the company announced positive results for a Phase 1 clinical trial of its mRNA coronavirus vaccine.
It was quite a day for some of the hardest-hit sectors and industries. Here’s how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 performed Monday:
| S&P 500 Sector | Price change – May 18 | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| Energy | 7.5% | -35.8% | 7.6% |
| Industrials | 6.6% | -22.2% | 26.8% |
| Financials | 5.3% | -28.2% | 29.2% |
| Real Estate | 4.9% | -16.3% | 24.9% |
| Materials | 4.6% | -13.2% | 21.9% |
| Utilities | 4.1% | -12.0% | 22.2% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 3.2% | -1.4% | 26.2% |
| Information Technology | 2.6% | 4.4% | 48.0% |
| Communication Services | 2.1% | -3.2% | 30.9% |
| Consumer Staples | 1.7% | -7.8% | 24.0% |
| Health Care | 0.9% | -0.8% | 18.7% |
Dow 30
All but one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up on Monday:
| Company | Ticker | Price change – May 18 | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| Boeing Co. | BA+12.87% | 12.9% | -58.4% | 1.0% |
| United Technologies Corp. | CL:UTX | 9.8% | -34.5% | 40.6% |
| Dow Inc. | DOW+9.48% | 9.5% | -32.9% | N/A |
| Exxon Mobil Corp. | XOM+7.95% | 8.0% | -35.0% | 2.3% |
| 3M Co. | MMM+7.63% | 7.6% | -15.4% | -7.4% |
| American Express Co. | AXP+7.53% | 7.5% | -29.0% | 30.6% |
| Walt Disney Co. | DIS+7.15% | 7.2% | -19.2% | 31.9% |
| Caterpillar Inc. | CAT+6.58% | 6.6% | -22.1% | 16.2% |
| Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. | WBA+6.41% | 6.4% | -30.7% | -13.7% |
| Goldman Sachs Group Inc. | GS+5.82% | 5.8% | -20.9% | 37.6% |
| Travelers Companies Inc. | TRV+5.53% | 5.5% | -30.4% | 14.4% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | JPM+5.3% | 5.3% | -35.1% | 42.8% |
| Nike Inc. Class B | NKE+4.66% | 4.7% | -10.1% | 36.6% |
| Visa Inc. Class A | V+4.3% | 4.3% | 1.9% | 42.4% |
| Coca-Cola Co. | KO+3.95% | 4.0% | -18.8% | 16.9% |
| International Business Machines Corp. | IBM+3.92% | 3.9% | -9.3% | 17.9% |
| Chevron Corp. | CVX+5.33% | 3.8% | -23.2% | 10.8% |
| McDonald’s Corp. | MCD+3.46% | 3.5% | -9.0% | 11.3% |
| Intel Corp. | INTC+2.81% | 2.8% | 0.1% | 27.5% |
| Home Depot Inc. | HD+2.52% | 2.5% | 12.4% | 27.1% |
| Apple Inc. | AAPL+2.36% | 2.4% | 7.3% | 86.2% |
| Verizon Communications Inc. | VZ+1.85% | 1.8% | -9.3% | 9.2% |
| Cisco Systems Inc. | CSCO+1.78% | 1.8% | -6.0% | 10.7% |
| Procter & Gamble Co. | PG+1.4% | 1.4% | -7.0% | 35.9% |
| Walmart Inc. | WMT+1.37% | 1.4% | 7.4% | 27.6% |
| Microsoft Corp. | MSFT+0.96% | 1.0% | 17.3% | 55.3% |
| UnitedHealth Group Inc. | UNH+0.82% | 0.8% | -0.2% | 18.0% |
| Pfizer Inc. | PFE+0.82% | 0.8% | -2.8% | -10.2% |
| Johnson & Johnson | JNJ+0.05% | 0.1% | 3.2% | 13.0% |
| Merck & Co. Inc. | MRK-0.08% | -0.1% | -12.3% | 19.0% |
S&P 500
Among the S&P 500, 464 stocks were up on Monday. Here are the day’s 20 best performers:
| Company | Ticker | Price change – May 18 | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| United Airlines Holdings Inc. | UAL+21.13% | 21.1% | -72.6% | 5.2% |
| Expedia Group Inc. | EXPE+18.62% | 18.6% | -26.8% | -4.0% |
| Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. | NCLH+17.95% | 17.9% | -77.9% | 37.8% |
| L Brands Inc. | LB+17.59% | 17.6% | -29.5% | -29.4% |
| Alliance Data Systems Corp. | ADS+17.42% | 17.4% | -60.0% | -25.2% |
| Marriott International Inc. Class A | MAR+17.38% | 17.4% | -38.2% | 39.5% |
| Halliburton Co. | HAL+17.21% | 17.2% | -53.0% | -7.9% |
| Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. | HST+17.1% | 17.1% | -36.5% | 11.3% |
| Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | RCL+16.69% | 16.7% | -67.3% | 36.5% |
| Marathon Petroleum Corp. | MPC+15.35% | 15.3% | -42.0% | 2.1% |
| Ventas Inc. | VTR+15.34% | 15.3% | -44.1% | -1.5% |
| Live Nation Entertainment Inc. | LYV+15.2% | 15.2% | -35.4% | 45.1% |
| Carnival Corp. | CCL+15.18% | 15.2% | -71.0% | 3.1% |
| TechnipFMC PLC | FTI+14.88% | 14.9% | -65.1% | 9.5% |
| HollyFrontier Corp. | HFC+14.85% | 14.8% | -39.1% | -0.8% |
| Howmet Aerospace Inc. | HWM+14.58% | 14.6% | -50.7% | 82.5% |
| Harley-Davidson Inc. | HOG+14.55% | 14.5% | -39.4% | 9.0% |
| Leggett & Platt Inc. | LEG+14.39% | 14.4% | -40.1% | 41.8% |
| General Electric Co. | GE+14.21% | 14.2% | -43.8% | 53.4% |
| TransDigm Group Inc. | TDG+14.01% | 14.0% | -33.8% | 64.7% |
Nasdaq-100
Here are the 10 best performers on Monday among components of the Nasdaq-100 Index NDX+1.96% :
| Company | Ticker | Price change – May 18 | Price change – 2020 | Price change – 2019 |
| United Airlines Holdings Inc. | UAL+21.13% | 21.1% | -72.6% | 5.2% |
| Expedia Group Inc. | EXPE+18.62% | 18.6% | -26.8% | -4.0% |
| Marriott International Inc. Class A | MAR+17.38% | 17.4% | -38.2% | 39.5% |
| NXP Semiconductors NV | NXPI+12.85% | 12.8% | -19.8% | 73.7% |
| Align Technology Inc. | ALGN+12.64% | 12.6% | -17.8% | 33.2% |
| Booking Holdings Inc. | BKNG+12.51% | 12.5% | -24.2% | 19.2% |
| JD.com Inc. ADR Class A | JD+9.2% | 9.2% | 57.6% | 68.3% |
| CDW Corp. | CDW+8.89% | 8.9% | -25.4% | 76.2% |
| Western Digital Corp. | WDC+8.08% | 8.1% | -33.2% | 71.7% |
| Baidu Inc. ADR Class A | BIDU+7.74% | 7.7% | -14.9% | -20.3% |
By Philip van Doorn