Wall Street celebrated Monday with a powerful rally that sent the Dow Jones to fresh record territory, climbing nearly 600 points as investors responded enthusiastically to weekend military operations against Venezuela that culminated in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
The Dow closed up approximately 595 points at 48,977.18, while the S&P 500 gained 0.64% to finish at 6,902.05. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.69% to close at 23,395.82 during Monday's session. The broad-based gains reflect improving investor confidence following the geopolitical developments.
Market sentiment has been remarkably strong throughout 2025. The S&P 500 has surged 16.39% for the year, marking its third consecutive year of double-digit gains. The Nasdaq Composite has performed even better with a 20.36% gain, while the Dow has added 12.97% in 2025.
The CNN Money Fear and Greed Index, which tracks overall market sentiment, improved to 46.8 on Monday from a prior reading of 44.7. While that represents progress, the index remains firmly planted in the "Neutral" zone, suggesting investors haven't fully embraced either fear or greed.
The Fear & Greed Index measures current market sentiment based on the idea that excessive fear drives stock prices down while excessive greed pushes them higher. The metric calculates sentiment using seven equal-weighted indicators, with readings ranging from 0 (maximum fear) to 100 (maximum greed).
Not all the economic news sparkled on Monday. The ISM manufacturing PMI declined for a third consecutive month, dropping to 47.9 in December. That's the lowest reading since October 2024 and below both November's 48.2 and market expectations of 48.3.
Most sectors participated in Monday's rally. Energy, financial, and consumer discretionary stocks led the gains on the S&P 500. However, consumer staples and utilities bucked the trend, finishing the session in negative territory.
On the earnings front, investors are watching for results from AngioDynamics, Inc. (ANGO), AAR Corp (AIR), and Penguin Solutions Inc (PENG) today.
