Stocks rose for a second day and the S&P 500 jumped to a new high as Wall Street looked to shake of geopolitical concerns and technology stocks powered higher.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each added 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 234 points, or 0.6%.
U.S.-listed China stocks struggled as investors took profits from the recent stimulus-fueled rally. China-based indexes finished lower, with the China Shenzhen registering its worst day since 1997. The iShares China Large-Cap ETF
dropped 2%. Elsewhere, Boeing lost nearly 3% after union negotiations ended without a deal and the company pulled its contract offer.
Wall Street is coming off a strong session driven by tech sector gains and easing oil prices. Those moves seemed to reflect growing optimism the Federal Reserve can navigate a soft landing, especially after last week’s jobs report showed continued strength in the labor market.
“There’s still a tug-of-war taking place between the ‘Big 4’ tailwinds (stimulus, disinflation, resilient growth, and healthy corporate performance) and rich valuations ... and the result is an SPX that’s caught in a sideways price pattern (albeit one that’s biased slightly to the upside),” wrote Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli.
Even with an underlying uptrend, the market could face further choppiness in what’s historically the most volatile month of the year, especially ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
On the economic front, investors are anticipating the latest meeting minutes from the Fed on Wednesday, due at 2 p.m. ET. The September consumer and producer price index readings are due out Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Earnings season kicks off Friday with the big banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.