MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Climbs By More Than 130 Points To Kick Off 4th-quarter Trade

By Mark DeCambre and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Roku shares trade about 9% lower after soaring in their debut last week

U.S. stock benchmarks traded in record territory Monday afternoon, as equities resumed a steady run-up that could set the tone for the final three months of 2017. The moves for stocks occurred amid an upbeat tone on Wall Street despite a mass shooting event in Las Vegas that is being described as the worst in U.S. history.

What are the stock benchmarks doing?

S&P 500 index advanced by 8 points, or 0.3%, to 2,525, hitting a record intraday high at 2,527.92, powered by gains in the health-care sector, up 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 133 points, or 0.6%, at 22,538, touching an intraday, all-time high at 22,543.65, supported by gains in 3M Co. (MMM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS).

The Nasdaq Composite Index , meanwhile, tacked on 16 points, or 0.3%, to 6,511.

On Friday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished at all-time closing highs (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-set-for-weaker-open-but-monthly-gains-set-to-remain-intact-2017-09-29), and the Dow finished only 7.50 points below its Sept. 20 record close. The three main benchmarks posted weekly, monthly and quarterly gains.

What are strategists and traders saying?

"l think what's driving the market is just optimism about the fourth quarter, along with expectations that results from the third quarter will be similar to the second quarter," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth. He also said hope that the Trump administration will rework tax policy is supporting buying appetite, although doubts linger about that coming to fruition this year.

"The continued talk [about taxes] that's all that really matters, but I don't think that anything gets voted on and passed this year," he said.

Read more:Will the stock market live up to the 4th quarter's reputation for strength? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/will-the-stock-market-live-up-to-the-4th-quarters-reputation-for-strength-2017-09-30)

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares in MGM Resorts International(MGM) dropped 4.6% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mgm-resorts-stock-falls-5-premarket-after-mandalay-bay-shooting-2017-10-02)in the wake of a mass shooting at the company's Mandalay Bay property in Las Vegas. A gunman opened fire (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reports-of-dead-injured-after-mass-shooting-at-las-vegas-concert-2017-10-02) on a crowd at an outdoor country-music concert in Vegas on Sunday night, leaving at least 50 people dead and more than 400 injured.

Gun-maker shares were moving (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gun-maker-stocks-surge-after-mass-shooting-in-las-vegas-2017-10-02). Smith & Wesson parent American Outdoor Brands Corp.'s(AOBC) stock jumped 3.1%, while Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. stocks (RGR) climbed 3.7%. Vista Outdoor Inc., shares(VSTO) were 2.4% higher.

Streaming-media company Roku Inc.'s stock traded 8.7% lower. The new issue surged in its trading debut Thursday, then jumped again Friday.

See:Roku IPO valuation nearly doubles in two sessions (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/roku-ipo-valuation-doubles-in-less-than-two-sessions-2017-09-29)

And read: Wall Street's embrace of Roku ignores the ghosts of GoPro, Fitbit IPOs (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-streets-embrace-of-roku-ignores-the-ghosts-of-gopro-fitbit-ipos-2017-09-29)

Software-giant Oracle Corp.'s stock (ORCL) could see active trading after Chairman Larry Ellison guaranteed late Sunday to offer database warehousing at less than half the price (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oracles-ellison-guarantees-database-warehousing-at-half-the-cost-of-amazons-2017-10-01) charged by rival Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)Shares of Oracle rose 0.8% in early trade, while Amazon shares were down about 0.4%.

ESPN-parent Walt Disney Co.(DIS) and cable operator Altice USA Inc.(ATUS) could make moves after they reached a tentative agreement late Sunday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/altice-disney-reach-tentative-deal-averting-espn-abc-blackout-2017-10-01) to keep Disney's channels on the air for millions of subscribers in the New York area. Disney's stock were up 1.2%, and shares of Altice were rose 0.6%.

What's driving the market?

The closely watched ISM manufacturing index was at 60.8 in September, representing the highest level for the economic reading since 2004. A reading of 50 indicates expansion. A separate reading on manufacturing activity from IHS Markit came in at 53.1 for the same month, compared with 52.8 in the prior month. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a reading of 58.1% for ISM's index, down from 58.8% in August (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ism-manufacturing-index-jumps-to-six-year-high-in-august-2017-09-01).

Construction spending (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/construction-spending-strengthens-in-august-led-by-rebound-in-public-sector-outlays-2017-10-02), meanwhile, increased 0.5% during the month, and stood 2.5% higher than a year ago. Outlays were at a seasonally adjusted annual $1.22 trillion rate in August, while July's initial tally was raised to $1.212 trillion. The median forecast among economists surveyed by MarketWatch was for a 0.4% increase.

Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashari on Monday urged Federal Reserve policy makers not to raise interest rates (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-kashkari-prefers-no-more-rate-hikes-until-inflation-hits-2-target-2017-10-02)again until inflation hits the central bank's 2% annual target, disagreeing with Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

Also on the Fed docket, Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan is slated to take part in a moderated Q&A at the Fed's El Paso branch at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

What other assets are doing

Spain's IBEX stock benchmark closed 1.2% lower after voters in Catalonia backed secession in a Sunday referendum (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/catalonia-leader-with-90-approval-we-have-the-right-to-be-independent-2017-10-01) that was marred by violent clashes and boycotted by opponents. The euro was losing ground, while the Stoxx Europe 600 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-rise-for-8th-straight-session-as-euro-slides-after-violent-catalonia-vote-2017-10-02) rose.

Oil futures traded in the red (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-edge-down-on-data-showing-production-gain-stronger-dollar-2017-10-02) and gold futures retreated to finish at a 2-month low, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-trades-lower-as-dollar-equities-aim-higher-2017-10-02) as the ICE U.S. Dollar Index gained. Asian stocks closed mostly higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australian-stocks-power-ahead-leading-asia-pacific-market-gains-2017-10-01), though several bourses were shut for holidays.

See: Brave investors might want to buy the dip on these 2 Catalonia-based banks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brave-investors-might-want-to-buy-the-dip-on-these-2-catalonia-based-banks-2017-10-02)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2017 14:50 ET (18:50 GMT)

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