U.S. stocks make hesitant gains Monday

Lola Evans
12 May 2026, 01:41 GMT+10

The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite closed at 26,274.12, advancing 27.05 points, or 0.10 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished solidly higher, ending at 49,704.47, up 95.31 points, also a rise of 0.19 percent.
The Standard and Poor's 500 closed at a fresh high of 7,412.85, adding 13.92 points for a gain of 0.19 percent.

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. and global stock markets turned in a split performance at the close of trading on Monday, with major U.S. benchmarks notching modest gains as Asian and European indexes showed uneven results.

In New York, the Standard and Poor's 500 closed at a fresh high of 7,412.85, adding 13.92 points for a gain of 0.19 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished solidly higher, ending at 49,704.47, up 95.31 points, also a rise of 0.19 percent.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite closed at 26,274.12, advancing 27.05 points, or 0.10 percent.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite index rose 61.12 points to 34,138.88, a gain of 0.18 percent.

European markets turned in a mixed close. Germany's DAX P finished nearly flat at 24,350.28, up just 11.65 points, or 0.05 percent. However, France's CAC 40 slipped 56.19 points to 8,056.38, a decline of 0.69 percent.

The broader EURO STOXX 50 I fell 16.08 points to 5,895.45, a drop of 0.27 percent. Belgium's BEL 20 was a notable outperformer, jumping 34.62 points to 5,497.94, an increase of 0.63 percent.

London's FTSE 100 rose 36.36 points to end at 10,269.43, a gain of 0.36 percent.

In the Asia-Pacific region, results were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 295.77 points to settle at 62,417.88, a decline of 0.47 percent.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 42.60 points to 8,701.80, down 0.49 percent, while the ALL ORDINARIES slipped 38.10 points to 8,942.40, a drop of 0.42 percent.

By contrast, South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index staged a sharp rally, soaring 324.24 points to close at 7,822.24, a spectacular gain of 4.32 percent.

Hong Kong's HANG SENG INDEX edged up 13.13 points to 26,406.84, a rise of 0.05 percent.

The SSE Composite Index in Shanghai added 45.07 points to 4,225.02, advancing 1.08 percent. Taiwan's TWSE rose 186.12 points to 41,790.06, a gain of 0.45 percent, while Singapore's STI Index climbed 20.87 points to 4,942.77, up 0.42 percent.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 added 35.35 points to end at 13,210.48, a gain of 0.27 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 2.75 points to 1,745.31, down 0.16 percent. Indonesia's IDX COMPOSITE fell 63.78 points to 6,905.62, a loss of 0.92 percent.

India saw heavy selling. The S&P BSE SENSEX plunged 1,312.91 points to close at 76,015.28, a steep decline of 1.70 percent.

In other regional markets, Israel's TA-125 fell 13.26 points to 4,463.33, down 0.30 percent.

Egypt's EGX 30 Price Return Index declined 153.20 points to 54,475.50, a drop of 0.28 percent.

In South Africa, the Top 40 USD Net TRI Index advanced 61.79 points to 7,271.44, a gain of 0.86 percent.

FOREX MARKET UPDATE: – U.S. Dollar Shows Strong Performance as Major Pairs Hold Tight Ranges

The foreign exchange market displayed a cautiously steady tone on Monday, with major currency pairs posting modest moves amid thin trading conditions. The latest quotes, recorded at late afternoon Eastern Daylight Time, show the U.S. dollar trading on a strong footing against its key counterparts, with the exception of the Japanese yen.

The euro held strongly against the greenback, with the EUR-USD pair quoted at 1.1778. The common currency posted a 0.08 percent net increase.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar edged higher. USD-JPY traded at 157.26, rising 0.58 percent with a net change of 0.37 percent, making it one of the more notable movers of the session.

The British pound remained resilient. GBP-USD was quoted at 1.3621, virtually unchanged with a net gain of 0.07 percent.

Commodity currencies showed subdued activity. The Australian dollar stood at AUD-USD 0.7249, recording a net increase of 0.04 percent. The USD-CAD pair traded at 1.3675, a marginal net rise of 0.01 percent.

Meanwhile, the Swiss franc strengthened slightly against the dollar. USD-CHF last changed hands at 0.7782, with a net decline of 0.21 percent, indicating modest franc buying.

Traders noted that volumes were relatively light as markets awaited fresh economic data later in the week.

(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).

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