Tech gains push S&P 500 closer to record

NEW YORK — Wall Street nudged a bit higher on Monday, and the S&P 500 teased even closer to its record high.

The benchmark index rose 9.14 points, or 0.3%, to 3,381.99. Earlier in the day, it briefly crossed above its record closing level of 3,386.15, which was set on Feb. 19 before the pandemic shut down businesses worldwide and created the worst recession in decades. It’s the third time in the last four trading days the index has risen above that record, only to fade later in the day.

Most other U.S. stock indexes also made gains. The Nasdaq composite rose 110.42, or 1%, to 11,129.73, and the smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 index gained 7.59, or 0.5%, to 1,585.47.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was an outlier and slipped 86.11, or 0.3%, to 27,844.91.

“It seems like a nothing day until you realize we’re sitting right on an all-time high for the S&P 500,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide.

The S&P 500 added onto its threeweek rally, even though investors are still waiting for Congress to offer more aid to the economy. Investors say it’s crucial that the support comes, particularly after $600 in weekly unemployment benefits and other stimulus from the U.S. government expired.

Markets seem to be banking on Democrats and Republicans coming to a deal, even though both sides say they remain far apart. Without the lifeline, analysts say the economy won’t be able to make the recovery that investors have been assuming is on the way. And that assumption is a huge reason the stock market is as high as it is.

“Hence, another round of stimulus is the difference between ensuring that the economic recovery continues uninterrupted and a meaningful short-term pullback in growth,” Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Zezas wrote in a report.

Investors seem willing to wait for a deal, for now. But if it gets deep into September, and Democrats and Republicans still remain far apart in their negotiations on the size of the deal, Zezas said it may be too close to the election to get one done.