US Stocks end mixed on Monday

The US stocks closed mixed on Monday, 08 March 2021, with the Dow ended the session well of its best levels of the day, while the S&P 500 and the broader Nasdaq plunged further into the red terrain, as concerns that the U.S. Senate's passage of a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill package will lead to higher bond yields by fueling expectations of an economic recovery and inflation.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 306.14 points, or 0.97%, to 31,802.44. The S&P500 index dropped 20.59 points, or 0.54%, to 3,821.35. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 310.98 points, or 2.41%, to 12,609.16.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came in reaction to news the Senate voted along party lines on Saturday to approve a new $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. Passage of the stimulus bill contributed to an increase in treasury yields, inspiring traders to rotate out of high-flying tech stocks and into cyclicals. Yields have been marching higher with rising expectations for the economy's growth and for the inflation that could accompany it. Higher yields put downward pressure on stocks generally, in part because they can steer away dollars that had been headed for the stock market into bonds instead. That makes investors less willing to pay as high prices for stocks, especially those that look the most expensive, such as technology stocks.

Financial stocks had some of the best gains. Wells Fargo rose 3.3% and Citigroup gained 2.8%. Technology companies have been heading lower as investors start to doubt whether the huge gains they made during the pandemic months can continue if inflation surges. Apple fell 4.2%, Google's parent Alphabet dropped 4.3% and Facebook slid 3.4%.

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed wholesale inventories spiked by 1.3% in January after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6% in December.

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