These 2 Stocks Led the Dow Jones Industrials Higher Monday

Investors have generally been happy with how 2022 has gone. Inflation has come down substantially, and many companies have found ways to get out of the economic doldrums and find avenues for growth. New hopes that the end of the year might end on a positive note helped to send the stock market higher on Monday. Although the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 2.02%) led the way, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.40%) and S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.02%) also got some love from investors.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Among Dow stocks, a couple stood out. 3M (MMM 0.46%) had the biggest percentage move higher on the day, but because of the vagaries of the Dow's price-weighted methodology, Goldman Sachs (GS 1.79%) actually had a bigger upward influence on the final index number. Read on to learn more about what happened with each of these two Dow components.

3M could be closer to another key settlement

Shares of 3M rose more than 5% on Monday. The industrial conglomerate has had to deal with a large number of legal issues recently, but reports suggested that 3M might be closer to putting another major problem behind it.

The move higher in 3M stock came after reports from various news sources saying that the company was close to settling a long-running dispute with the U.S. military. According to the U.S. government's allegations, earplugs made by 3M were defective and failed to protect service members in the way they should have. The reports suggested that 3M had agreed to a $5.5 billion settlement of those claims, which affected more than 300,000 people.

Those following 3M were generally pleased with the potential outcome. Several stock analysts believe that the $5.5 billion number would be less than feared if it turns out to be the final settlement. Moreover, coming on the heels of a legal settlement concerning public water supplies and PFAS contamination, the move shows that 3M is serious about getting some of these long-running disputes behind it.

It's never good news for companies to pay for doing harm, but most 3M shareholders had expected far worse. Moreover, a settlement would let 3M concentrate more on getting its business back in shape.

Goldman moves on from mass-market investment advice

Goldman Sachs, by contrast, was up less than 2% on Monday. However, because its stock price is much higher, the larger move in dollar terms was actually more influential in boosting the Dow than 3M was.

Goldman announced that it would sell its personal financial management business to Kansas-based Creative Planning. The move is the latest in a series of strategic decisions involving Goldman backing away from providing consumer financial services to a mass market audience.

For Creative Planning, the news is a boon. The privately held company has roughly $245 billion in assets under management, with a comprehensive array of service providers to handle all aspects of clients' financial lives. The acquisition should help accelerate Creative Planning's growth and could add $29 billion in assets under management to its overall business.

Goldman is generally known best for its influence on Wall Street, helping ultra-high-net worth individuals and businesses get major deals done. In that sense, going after the broader consumer market was always a departure from Goldman's strengths. It now appears that the financial giant is returning to its roots and concentrating on what it does best.