Stocks climb on Wall Street as appetite for risk returns

Stocks closed higher Monday on Wall Street, and the broad rally helped the Standard & Poor’s 500 index claw back more than half of its losses over the last two weeks.

The benchmark index rose 1%, led by solid gains in technology and communication companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and Google’s parent company, Alphabet. A variety of companies that rely on direct consumer spending also made solid gains. Sectors that are viewed as safer investments, such as utilities, lagged behind the broader market. Bond yields fell.

The rally marks a reversal from the market’s recent trajectory. The S&P 500 followed up an all-time closing high May 7 with two straight weekly declines. Investors have been watching for potential signs of inflation as the economic recovery continues as the coronavirus recedes in the U.S.

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The S&P 500 index rose 41.19 points to 4,197.05. The index is now on track for a 0.4% monthly gain. The Dow Jones industrial average added 186.14 points, or 0.5%, closing at 34,393.98. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite gained 190.18 points, or 1.4%, and ended at 13,661.17.

Smaller-company stocks also notched gains. The Russell 2000 index picked up 12.07 points, or 0.5%, to end at 2,227.34.

Technology stocks accounted for a big share of the upward move in the market Monday, with semiconductor companies among the big gainers. Nvidia rose 4.1%, while Micron Technology added 2.7%. Among communication stocks, Facebook gained 2.7% and Twitter jumped 4.8%

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.60% from 1.63% on Friday.

Digital currencies such as Bitcoin were volatile once again after plummeting over the last two weeks. Bitcoin climbed 17.6% to around $39,539, according to Coindesk. It was worth nearly $65,000 a month ago.

Virgin Galactic jumped 27.6% after the company made its first rocket-powered flight from New Mexico to the fringe of space in a manned shuttle over the weekend.