S&P 500 inches closer to record

Cautious investors still waiting for more federal aid to economy.

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. 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 1% and the smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 index gained 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was an outlier, slipping 0.3%.

“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 three-week 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. “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.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% after data showed the world’s third-largest economy shrank at an annual rate of 27.8%.