NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are ticking higher Monday and clawing back some of the losses from their worst week since April.
The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in midday trading and on track to break a three-day losing streak. It would be the first gain for the index since it set an all-time high on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 21 points, or 0.2%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.
Nvidia rose 2.4%, and other Big Tech stocks likewise regained some of their sharp drops from the week before to support the market. They had sputtered amid criticism they’d grown too expensive after rocketing so high and being the main reasons for Wall Street's run to records. Two of them, Alphabet and Tesla, will report on Tuesday how much profit they earned during the spring in a big test. They each rose at least 1.7%.
Treasury yields were holding relatively steady in the bond market after President Joe Biden said he won’t run for re-election. The move could cause the unwind of some of the market’s “Trump trade,” which took off after Biden’s weak performance in a debate last month raised expectations for a win by former President Donald Trump.
Bank stocks had climbed on forecasts for lighter regulations following a Republican sweep, for example, and longer-term Treasury yields climbed more than short-term ones on expectations for policies that could push up the U.S. government’s already high debt.
But Biden’s stepping aside over the weekend wasn’t that big a surprise for the market. “It was a matter of when, not if,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
“This could lower the odds of Trump winning, but the Democrats have to rally around a candidate first.”
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was holding steady at 4.24%, where it was late Friday. Shorter-term yields were also holding firm. The two-year yield remained at 4.52%, where it was late Friday.
Other corners of the market that could have swung sharply on uncertainty about the election were also mostly quiet. The U.S. dollar’s value was relatively steady against its biggest rivals.
In the meantime, reports on corporate profits and the U.S. economy’s growth could continue to grab the market’s spotlight. Analysts are expecting companies in the S&P 500 to deliver the strongest profit growth for the latest quarter since the end of 2021, according to FactSet.
Truist Financial rose 2.9% after the bank reported net interest income, a key underlying measure of overall profit, that analysts called stronger than expected.
Verizon Communications tumbled 6.4% after reporting profit for the latest quarter that matched analysts’ expectations but revenue that fell just short.
Besides Alphabet and Tesla, dozens of other big U.S. companies will also report their latest quarterly results this upcoming week, including Coca-Cola, Ford and American Airlines.
Airlines last week struggled with massive disruptions from a global technology outage, which appeared to have been resolved over the weekend though delays at airports continued Monday.
A faulty software update caused havoc worldwide and led to the grounding by almost all airlines of a number of flights. The vast majority of cancellations early Monday were Delta Air Lines flights. Delta’s stock lost 1.9%.
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack and that it had deployed a fix. The company said the problem lay in a faulty update sent to computers running Microsoft Windows.
CrowdStrike’s stock was down another 12.5% Monday after taking an 11.1% hit on Friday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.3%, but stocks fell 0.6% in Shanghai after China’s central bank unexpectedly lowered a benchmark interest rate for loans. The move came after the government recently reported the world’s second-largest economy expanded at a slower-than-forecast pace in the second quarter.
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AP Business Writer Matt Ott contributed.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
The Federal Reserve will almost certainly cut its key interest rate on Wednesday and could signal it expects another cut in December as the central bank seeks to bolster hiring. A cut Wednesday would be the second this year and could benefit consumers by bringing down borrowing costs for mortgages and auto loans. Since Fed chair Jerome Powell strongly signaled in late August that rate cuts were likely this year, the average 30-year mortgage rate has fallen to about 6.2% from 6.6%. Still, the Fed is navigating an unusual period for the U.S. economy and its future moves are harder to anticipate than is typically the case.
Stocks are rallying toward more records ahead of a week packed with potentially market-moving events. The S&P 500 rose 1% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 224 points, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.7%. Stocks also climbed in Asia ahead of a meeting on Thursday between the heads of the United States and China. The hope is that the talks could clear rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies. This upcoming week will feature profit reports from some of Wall Street's most influential companies and a meeting by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Gold fell back toward $4,000 per ounce.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
Some seniors say the Social Security Administration's cost-of-living adjustment won’t help much in their ability to pay for their daily expenses. The agency announced Friday the annual cost-of-living adjustment will go up by 2.8% in 2026, translating to an average increase of more than $56 for retirees every month. Eighty-year-old Florence, South Carolina, resident Linda Deas says it does not match the current "affordability crisis.” The benefits increase will go into effect for Social Security recipients beginning in January. Friday’s announcement was meant to be made last week but was delayed because of the federal government shutdown. Recipients got a 2.5% COLA boost in 2025 and a 3.2% increase in 2024.
Wall Street is heading for records after an update said U.S. households are feeling a bit less pain from inflation than feared. The S&P 500 climbed 1% Friday and was on track to top its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 529 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%. Both are also heading toward records. The inflation data could clear the way for the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates in hopes of helping the slowing job market. A strong earnings reports from Ford Motor and continued gains for AI stars also drove stocks higher.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that a sharp slowdown in hiring poses a growing risk to the U.S. economy.
Three researchers who probed the process of business innovation have won the Nobel memorial prize in economics for explaining how new products and inventions promote economic growth and human welfare, even as they leave older companies in the dust.
U.S. stocks are rising and recovering some of their sell-off from Friday. The S&P 500 climbed 1.6%.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
