Stock Market Today: Dow kicks off April with swashbuckling gains as energy rallies

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- The Dow ended higher Monday, as energy stocks soared on rising oil prices, while tech recovered the bulk of its intraday losses amid dip-buying action.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1% or 327 points, and the Nasdaq fell 0.3%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.4%.

Energy stocks were pushed higher by rising oil prices after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, or OPEC+, unexpectedly cut oil production by 1 million barrels per day.

The cut is expected to help rein in overall crude supply at a time when many have been weighing up macroeconomic impact on oil demand following the recent turmoil in banks.

"While today's surprise OPEC+ cut helps to tighten balances, it doesn't necessarily de-risk the fear of the macro unknown," RBC said in a note.

APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), and Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) were among the biggest gainers with the latter up more than 9%.

Tech, which gained about 20% in the first quarter, took a breather, pressured by weakness in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), while chip stocks also in the red.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), meanwhile, was also big drag on the market after falling more than 6% as the electric vehicle maker announced total deliveries of 422,900 for the first quarter, topping estimates of 421,500 as recent price cuts boosted demand.

While the Model Y/3 price cuts implemented early in 2023 "have paid major dividends" for Tesla, Wedbush says, the impact on margins will come under close scrutiny.

"The big question will be margins as cutting prices will have an impact on this front although we believe Auto GM north of 20% remains the key threshold over the coming quarters," Wedbush said.

In deal news, World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE:WWE) confirmed its merger with UFC to create a combat sports company controlled by parent company Endeavor (NYSE:EDR). The deal valued WWE at $9.3 billion and UFC at $12.1B.

On the economic front, U.S. manufacturing activity fell short of economic estimates, though some flagged positive, including ongoing signs of disinflation in goods.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 46.3 in March from 47.7 a month earlier, while the prices paid index fell to 49.2 from 51.3, showing that the "disinflationary trend in the goods sector remains intact as well," Jefferies said.