Stock Market Today: Wall Street Climbs to Record Highs as Momentum Continues

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks advanced to record highs Monday as Wall Street the momentum continues to the top.

The S&P 500 was up 0.6% in morning trading and on track to surpass its all-time high set Wednesday. It is coming off its 10th winning week in the past 12, buoyed in large part by expectations that inflation slows down enough to convince the Federal Reserve to Lower Interest Rates Soon.

As of 10:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 180 points, or 0.5%, also on track to set a record, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1%.

Some of the best-performing markets are those that do best when former President Donald Trump's reelection chances look brighter. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Trump's Truth Social platform, jumped 32.1%. Bitcoin climbed back above $62,000 after Trump, who has run as a candidate in favor of cryptocurrenciesSurvived an assassination attempt during the weekend.

According to Isaac Boltansky, director of political research at BTIG, Trump could see an immediate surge in support in the polls, as President Ronald Reagan did in 1981, and Trump's distrust after the attack could be the defining image of this electoral cycle.

Long-term Treasury yields have also risen relative to short-term yields, with the 10-year Treasury yield climbing from 4.19% to 4.22% last Friday. Something similar has happened after the last few months debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, as traders made moves in anticipation of a Republican victory in November that could ultimately mean policies that further increase the US government's debt.

Shares of major financial companies, which could benefit from lighter regulation under a Republican administration, were mixed after their latest financial results.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs rose 0.7% after reporting higher profits and revenues for the last quarter than analysts expectedBlackRock, the asset manager behind iShares exchange-traded funds, fell 0.5% after beating profit forecasts but missing revenue.

Expectations are generally high heading into earnings season, which unofficially kicked off last week. Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to grow 9.3% from a year earlier, according to FactSet. That would be the strongest growth in more than two years.

Those expectations were one of the forces that pushed U.S. stocks to record highs. So were encouraging reports on inflation, which showed a slowdown enough that most Wall Street analysts expect the Federal Reserve to begin cutting its key interest rate in September.

For about a year nowThe Fed kept its key interest rate at its highest level in more than two decades. Lower interest rates would relieve pressure that has built up on the economy due to the high cost of borrowing to finance savings. buy housescars or anything on credit cardFed officials, however, have said They want to see more reliable inflation data before acting.

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell He will speak later in the day at the Economic Club of Washington on Monday.

Despite the seemingly unstoppable run of the U.S. stock market, some skeptics remain cautious about prices they consider too high. The S&P 500 has already jumped 18.5% this year and has broken 37 all-time records.

Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, acknowledges that he had at least anticipated an imminent correction in stock prices earlier this year, but he still warns of the possibility of a 10% decline soon.

He said inflation could remain high and the U.S. economy could grow more slowly than expected in the second half of the year. Bannister said that combination constitutes moderate stagflation and would be particularly damaging to the high-growth stocks that have been Wall Street's biggest stars.

On Wall Street, U.S.-listed shares of Burberry fell 16.3% after the British luxury fashion house announced appointed Joshua SchulmanFormer CEO of Michael Kors and Coach, Schulman has been named CEO of the brand. Schulman, 52, replaces Jonathan Akeroyd.

The surprise announcement comes as Burberry said its first-quarter revenue was down 21% and it suspended its dividend.

Macy's fell 13.9% after ending months-long negotiations over a possible acquisition by two investment firms. The retailer said the company's latest offer was not high enough to be convincing and may also not have been fully funded.

In overseas stock markets, Chinese indices were mixed after China reported Hong Kong's economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the latest quarter as the ruling Communist Party opened a 10-year policy-setting meeting. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.5%, while Shanghai stocks gained 0.1%.

Stock market indices were mostly down in Europe.

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AP Business reporters Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.