Strong tech gains send Wall Street higher

Stocks marched higher again on Monday, as Wall Street extended its gains from last week’s rally, the market’s best in three months.

The S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent, following up on strengthening in stock markets around the world. Big Tech stocks, including Apple and Microsoft, powered much of the gains. Their businesses have proven to be practically impervious to the pandemic, unlike companies that would benefit from a strengthening economy.

The market’s latest upward push came as Wall Street appeared to largely shrug off the latest signs that Democrats and Republicans are no closer to reaching a deal on more aid for the economy, which remains hobbled by the pandemic. Over the weekend, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the latest offer from the Trump administration on a stimulus package as “one step forward, two steps back,” while the president’s fellow Republicans called it too expensive.

“The market is expressing some comfort with Democrats taking the White House and the Senate, if it means that there will be more stimulus,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. “But the reality is it’s several months away before anything could get passed. It does raise a question in my mind whether or not some of this is too much, too soon in terms of the market anticipating stimulus at this point.”

The S&P 500 rose 57.09 points to 3,534.22. The benchmark index is on a four-day winning streak and is now within 1.4 percent of its all-time high set Sept. 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 250.62 points, or 0.9 percent, to 28,837.52. The Nasdaq composite, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, gained 296.32 points, or 2.6 percent, to 11,876.26.