Wall Street Nears Record Highs as Momentum Continues WFTV

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

The S&P 500 rose 15.87 points, or 0.3%, to 5,631.22, finishing just shy of its all-time high set last week. It just had its 10th winning week in the past 12 weeks, driven largely by expectations that inflation slows down enough to convince the Federal Reserve to Lower Interest Rates Soon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 210.82 points, or 0.5 percent, to 40,211.72, setting its own record, while the Nasdaq Composite added 74.12 points, or 0.4 percent, to 18,472.57, finishing just shy of its high.

Some of the best-performing sectors in the market are those that do best when former President Donald Trump's chances of being elected look brighter. Trump Media and Technology Groupthe company behind Trump's Truth Social platform, jumped 31.4%. Bitcoin climbed back above $63,000 after Trump, who has run as a candidate in favor of cryptocurrenciesSurvived an assassination attempt during the weekend.

Trump could get an immediate boost in poll support, as President Ronald Reagan did in 1981, according to Isaac Boltanksy, director of political research at BTIG, and “Trump's challenge 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 to 4.22% from 4.19% last Friday. Something similar happened after last month's rate hike. 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 increase the US government debt.

Shares of big financial companies, which could benefit from regulatory relief from a Republican administration, also helped lift the market. JPMorgan Chase climbed 2.5% and was one of the most powerful forces behind the S&P 500's rise.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs rose 2.6% after reporting higher profits and revenues for the last quarter than analysts expectedBlackRock, the asset manager behind iShares exchange-traded funds, fell 0.6% after beating profit forecasts but missing revenue.

Expectations are high heading into earnings season, which unofficially kicked off last week. Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to grow 9.3% overall 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 rates would ease pressure that has built up on the economy because of the high cost of borrowing to finance spending. buy housescars or anything on credit cardFed officials, however, have said They want to see “more good data” on inflation before acting.

In a speech to the Economic Club of Washington, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said: Again On Monday, he gave no word on when the Fed might cut interest rates. But he also said Fed officials were aware of the risks of waiting too long or too short. Cuts that are too late could send the U.S. economy into a recession, while cuts that are too aggressive could allow inflation to accelerate again.

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% and set 37 all-time records since the start of the year.

Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, acknowledged 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 elevated and the U.S. economy could grow more slowly than expected in the second half of the year. Such a scenario constitutes moderate stagflation and could be particularly damaging to the high-growth stocks that have dominated Wall Street, Bannister said.

Among individual companies, U.S.-listed shares of Burberry fell 16.1% after the British luxury fashion house announced it was appointed Joshua Schulmanformer chief executive of Michael Kors and Coach, has been named chief executive of Burberry. The surprise announcement comes as Burberry said its first-quarter revenue fell 21% and it suspended its dividend.

Macy's fell 11.7% after ending months of talks over a possible acquisition by two investment firms. The retailer said the companies' 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-making 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.

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