Stocks notch gains amid recession jitters

U.S. stocks ticked higher Monday as Wall Street keeps wrestling with whether the economy will avoid a recession amid rising interest rates and high inflation.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 12.89 points, or 0.3%, to 4,121.43 after swinging through another day of erratic moves, in what’s become the norm for markets. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 16.08 points, or less than 0.1%, to 32,915.78, and the Nasdaq composite gained 48.64 points, or 0.4%, to 12,061.37.

Stocks started the day with bigger gains, and the S&P 500 was up as much as 1.5% and the Nasdaq was briefly up nearly 2%. But they fell back as Treasury yields continued to climb, putting downward pressure on stocks. When safe bonds are paying more in interest, investors are usually less willing to pay high prices for stocks, which are riskier.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped back above 3% to 3.04%, up from 2.95% late Friday.

Solar power companies were some of the biggest gainers after President Biden ordered emergency measures to increase U.S. manufacturing of solar panels and exempted panels from Southeast Asia from tariffs for two years.

Enphase Energy jumped 5.4%, and SolarEdge Technologies rose 2.9%.

Amazon was one of the biggest forces pushing the S&P 500 higher. It rose 2% after its 20-for-1 stock split. Such a move lowers its stock price and makes it more affordable to some smallerpocketed investors, all while leaving its total value alone.

Spirit Airlines rose 7% after JetBlue Airways boosted its buyout offer.

Big swings could still be ahead for Wall Street this week, particularly on Friday when the U.S. government releases its latest monthly update on inflation.