Stocks move higher on Wall Street, continuing strong streak

Stocks are moving higher yet again on Monday, adding to a streak that gave the market its best weekly gain since November last week. Investors continue to be focused on company earnings and the higher prospects for more economic stimulus to combat the impact of the coronavirus.

The S&P 500 was up 0.4% as of 3:21 p.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 157 points, or 0.5%, to 31,305 and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6%.

Small-company stocks continued to far outpace the rest of the market, a sign investors are feeling optimistic about the economy. The Russell 2000 index rose 2%.

Investors have been encouraged by surprisingly good corporate earnings reports, news that a recent surge in new coronavirus cases is easing, and progress in the distribution of vaccines.

“The resilience of the corporate sector has been resounding,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. “The path of least resistance is still higher.”

President Biden and Congressional Democrats appear to be moving forward with their own version of a coronavirus stimulus bill that is estimated to cost $1.9 trillion. The Senate and House took procedural steps late last week to pass the bill using a process known as reconsolidation, which does not require 60 votes to advance in the Senate.

In another sign of optimism, Treasury yields continued to push higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.17% from 1.15% late Friday, more than double where it was six months ago. While there have been near-zero signs of inflation in recent months, investors believe improving economic fortunes and trillions of dollars in stimulus could make stocks more attractive, and therefore make bond yields rise as their prices fall.

Technology companies accounted for much of the broad market rally. Energy companies were also among the winners as oil prices climbed 2%. Occidental Petroleum jumped 12.5%. and Exxon Mobil rose 4.7%.

Tesla rose 1.2% after the company said it purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and pIans to allow customers to pay for their electric vehicles with the digital currency. Bitcoin was up 13.2% to $43,099 according to digital currency brokerage Coinbase.

Investors continue to watch shares of GameStop, AMC Entertainment and other beaten-down companies who have been a focus of online investors the last several weeks. GameStop shares were down about 8% after shedding an early gain. The stock had a massive drop last week. Just this month GameStop shares are down more than 81%.