Stocks rise as lower bond yields lift tech

S&P 500 hits an all-time high for third time this week

Technology companies led stocks to more gains on Wall Street Thursday, nudging the S&P 500 to an all-time high for the third time this week.

The benchmark index rose 0.4 percent and is on track for its third straight weekly gain. Stocks within the S&P 500 were about evenly split between gainers and losers, with technology companies driving much of the rally. Those gains were tempered mainly by a slide in energy stocks and real estate companies.

Bond yields, which had been steadily ticking higher, continued to inch back from the highs they hit earlier in the month. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which influences interest rates on mortgages and other loans, fell to 1.63 percent from 1.65 percent late Wednesday. It had been as high as 1.75 percent on Monday.

That pullback in yields took some pressure off technology stocks, which have slipped over the last few months as yields jumped and made the shares look

pricey. The sector has also seen choppy trading as investors shift more money into companies that stand to benefit from the economic recovery.

“We expect rates to rise because the economy is looking better,” said Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer at Defiance ETFS. “I don’t think that the 10-year (Treasury yield) moving around in the short term is really an issue for the market.”

The S&P 500 rose 17.22 points to 4,097.17. The index also set record highs on Monday and Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 57.31 points, or 0.2 percent, to 33,503.57. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 140.47 points, or 1 percent, to 13,829.31.

Small company stocks, which have been outpacing the broader market this year, also had a good showing.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies picked up 19.54 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,242.60. The index is up 13.6 percent so far this year, while the S&P 500, which tracks large companies, is up 9.1 percent.

Big Tech stocks were among the biggest beneficiaries as bond yields

cooled off. Apple rose 1.9 percent, Microsoft gained 1.3 percent and Amazon added 0.6 percent.

Investors are showing cautious optimism about the economic recovery, especially in the U.S., where vaccine distribution has been ramping up and President Joe Biden has advanced the deadline for states to make doses available to all adults to April 19.

But it’s clear the economy has much to do when it comes to recovery. The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits last week rose again last week, as many businesses remain closed or partially shut down due to the pandemic.