S&P 500 Gains and Losses Today: AI Plays Help Lift Index to Record Close [Video]

Major U.S. equities indexes moved higher in the first session of the new trading week as tech gains helped pushed major indexes to new highs, with earnings season set to pick up steam later in the week.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.8% on Monday, adding to the benchmark index’s all-time high Friday for a second straight record close. The Dow was up 0.5%, closing above the 43,000 level for the first time, and the Nasdaq gained 0.9%.

Shares of power generator Vistra (VST) jumped 5.6% on Monday to notch the best daily performance of any S&P 500 constituent after BNP Paribas initiated coverage on the stock with an “outperform” rating. BNP also established a price target of $230 on Vistra shares, representing upside potential of around 74% from Monday’s close. Vistra surpassed Nvidia (NVDA) last month as the S&P 500’s top performer for 2024, riding a wave of enthusiasm around the company’s opportunity to provide nuclear-generated power for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

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