US stocks make modest gains, continuing upward trend

BEIJING — Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Monday, continuing an upward trend that has pushed major indexes to a string of record highs as investors review mostly solid corporate earnings.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 1:45 p.m. Eastern. The benchmark index is coming off of five straight weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 50 points, or 0.1%, to 36,378 and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%.

Every major index had a succession of multiple record high closes last week.

Smaller company stocks have also been making solid gains and again outpaced the rest of the market, which is a signal that investors are feeling confident about economic growth. The Russell 2000 rose 0.3%. It is also coming off of a record-setting week.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.49% from 1.45% late Friday.

Stocks were roughly split between gainers and losers within the S&P 500. Banks, which rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans, made solid gains. Citigroup rose 2.1%.

Technology companies also gained ground and helped offset losses elsewhere in the broader market. Advanced Micro Devices jumped 11.8% and was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 after announcing that Facebook parent company Meta had chosen to use chips from AMD in its data centers. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 3.6%.

Caterpillar rose 3.5% and industrial stocks gained ground overall in the first trading session since a $1 trillion infrastructure bill passed through Congress late Friday and awaits President Joe Biden’s signature. That has also eased some concerns over gridlock in Washington as a potential fight over raising the debt ceiling looms, according to Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group.

“Markets had sort of come to the conclusion that infrastructure was going to take longer,” he said. “But it looks like maybe the logjam is broken; it really reduces the chances we’ll have a fireworks-laden Christmas.”

A mix of companies the rely on direct consumer spending for goods and services fell, along with companies that sell household products.

Tesla fell 2.9% after after CEO Elon Musk said he would sell 10% of his holdings in the company based on the results of a poll he conducted on Twitter over the weekend.

Social networking company Nextdoor Holdings surged 30% in its market debut via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

The latest round of corporate earnings is starting to wind down, but investors still have several report cards from some big companies to review. Health care services and products company Cardinal Health will report its financial results on Tuesday and entertainment giant Walt Disney will report earnings on Wednesday.

Wall Street will also get several updates on inflation this week. Rising inflation remains a key concern as companies contend with higher raw materials costs and supply chain problems, while consumers face higher prices. Investors are watching closely to see whether higher prices impact consumer spending and the economic recovery, especially as the holiday shopping season quickly approaches.

The Labor Department will release its Producer Price Index for October on Tuesday, which measures inflationary pressures before they reach consumers. The agency will release its Consumer Price Index for October on Wednesday, which focuses on inflation’s impact on consumers.