Wall Street Stocks Rise, Asian Markets Gain

Stocks are ticking higher Monday, Mar. 6, 2023, to add a bit more to Wall Street’s newfound strength, Stan Choe, Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: On Wall Street, technology stocks were helping to lead the way higher.

The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in midday trading after coming off its first winning week in the last four. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 85 points, or 0.3%, at 33,476, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% higher.

The stock market has found some footing over the last week after a roller-coaster start to the year where a swift rise gave way to a sharp tumble. At the center of it all has been high inflation and expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do about it.

On Monday, Treasury yields eased a bit to take some pressure off the stock market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.95% after topping 4% last week and reaching its highest level since November. It helps set rates for mortgages and other loans that are central to the economy’s strength.

On Wall Street, technology stocks were helping to lead the way higher. They tend to be some of the biggest beneficiaries of lower interest rates, which can boost demand by investors for high-growth companies.

Apple rose 2.9%, and Microsoft gained 1.6% to be the two biggest forces lifting the S&P 500.

Stock markets abroad were mostly higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.1%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.3% and stocks in Shanghai slipped 0.2%. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.4%, Germany’s DAX returned 0.5% and London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3%.

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