By Stan Choe AP Business Writer
New York (AP) — Most U.S. stocks are rising Monday and adding to the gains made during their best week of the year.
The S&P 500 was up 0.1% in afternoon trading, and two out of every three stocks in the index were climbing. It’s coming off a 4.7% spurt last week spurred by Donald Trump’s presidential victory and a cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve to bolster the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 322 points, or 0.7%, as of 1:59 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.
Tesla was the strongest force pushing the S&P 500 higher after rising 8.1%. Its leader, Elon Musk, has become a close ally of Trump’s, and its stock jumped nearly 15% the day after the election and has kept rising.
Several pieces of what’s known as the “Trump trade” also helped drive the market, as investors try to identify which kinds of companies will be winners under a second Trump term. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.2%, and bank stocks broadly continue to benefit from expectations for stronger economic growth, less regulation from Washington and an increase in mergers and acquisitions.
A White House more friendly to big tie-ups has helped Wall Street speculate about a merger between insurers Cigna Group and Humana, for example. It’s been so feverish that Cigna said Monday it isn’t pursuing a deal with Humana. Cigna’s stock rose 7.7%, and Humana’s sank 2%.
Stocks of companies more focused on the U.S. economy were also rising more than the rest of the market, including a 1.5% rally for the smaller stocks in the Russell 2000 index, because they’re seen as benefiting more from Trump’s America First policies than big multinational companies.
Companies are also continuing to deliver earnings reports showing they made more in profit during the summer than analysts expected. Aramark gained 0.8% after it reported broad-based growth during the latest quarter, including for food at stadiums and among customers around the world.
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They helped offset a drop of 1.9% for Nvidia, which was the heaviest weight on the market and helped drag the Nasdaq composite in particular.
AbbVie tumbled 12% after saying trials investigating its treatment for some adults with schizophrenia failed to show statistically significant improvement compared with a placebo group at week six.
Some of the sharpest swings were in the crypto market, where bitcoin rose above $86,000 for the first time. Trump has embraced cryptocurrencies generally and pledged to make his country the crypto capital of the world. Bitcoin hit a record of $86,375, according to CoinDesk.
Another Trump trade has been a rise in Treasury yields, as traders anticipate potentially higher economic growth, U.S. government debt and inflation because of Trump’s policies. But trading in the bond market is closed Monday in observance of Veterans Day.
Treasury yields been generally climbing since September, in large part because the U.S. economy has remained much more resilient than feared. The hope is that it can continue to stay solid as the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates in order to keep the job market humming, now that it’s helped get inflation nearly down to its 2% target.
But Trump’s win has scrambled expectations for coming cuts to rates. Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many the Fed will deliver next year. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.
Stock markets abroad have swung following Trump’s election amid worries about increased tariffs and disruptions to global trade.
Indexes were mixed Monday, with European markets rising while South Korea’s and Hong Kong’s sank.
AP Writer Zimo Zhong in Hong Kong contributed to this report.