Bond market jitters ease — as do interest rates — with Fed signaling few concerns with new $1.9 trillion stimulus push.
Stocks rose across the board Monday on Wall Street as traders welcomed a move lower in long-term interest rates in the bond market. Investors also watched Washington, D.C., as a big economic stimulus bill moved to the Senate. The S&P 500 added about 2.4% on Monday. More than 95% of the stocks in the index were higher Monday, led by energy and technology companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up a little over 600 points, or nearly 2%, to 31,535, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 3%. Much of the focus on Wall Street was on the bond market, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note falling to 1.45% after going as high as 1.5% last week, the highest level in more than a year. Higher interest rates can slow the economy and discourage borrowing. Bond yields, which influence interest rates on mortgages and many other kinds of loans, have been steadily climbing much of 2021 so far as investors bet that vaccination efforts and more government stimulus will lead to strong economic growth later this year.
