Stock market rally pauses, but blowout month still expected

Stocks closed down on Monday, interrupting the recent rally, but remain on track for their best month in over a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both dipped about 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped in late trading. The VIX, Wall Street's "fear gauge," closed at its lowest level since January 2020. Analysts from BMO Capital Markets and Deutsche Bank project the S&P 500 to reach 5,100 by the end of 2024, the highest projection yet among Wall Street strategists. Roku stock climbed after an upgrade from Cannonball Research, and gold prices rose as investors embraced a more risk-off outlook. Oil prices moved lower as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended, and the major indexes on Wall Street had a mixed afternoon of trading. The dominance of the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks is drawing comparisons to the dot-com bubble, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes the Binance settlement will bring regulatory clarity to the crypto industry.