U.S. Stocks Move Mostly Higher After Senate Passes Stimulus Bill

Stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of morning trading on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last Friday. The major averages have all moved to the upside, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq is posting a relatively modest gain.

Currently, the Dow and the S&P 500 are just off their highs of the session. The Dow is up 329.91 points or 1.1 percent at 31,826.21 and the S&P 500 is up 25.39 points or 0.7 percent at 3,867.33, while the Nasdaq is up 22.19 points or 0.2 percent at 12,942.34.

The strength on Wall Street comes amid optimism about the economic outlook after the Senate voted along party lines on Saturday to approve a new $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

The bill, which includes $1,400 direct payments and an extension of unemployment benefits, is expected to be approved by the House later this week.

Democrats were forced to use the reconciliation process to pass the legislation without any Republican support, although a new relief package was always widely expected on Wall Street.

Optimism about the impact of the relief bill has seemingly overshadowed recent concerns about the increase in bond yields.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note has shown a notable move to the upside on the day, once again reaching an interview high above the 1.6 percent level.

Airline stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 5 percent.

Significant strength has also emerged among chemical stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent jump by the S&P Chemical Sector Index.

Housing stocks are also turning in a strong performance on the day, resulting in a 2.1 percent advance by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.

Retail, financial and telecom are also seeing notable strength, while semiconductor and energy stocks have moved to the downside.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index plunged by 2.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index has spiked by 3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have climbed off their worst levels of the day but remain in negative territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.5 basis points to 1.589 percent.