S&P sets third new record high in less than two weeks

The S&P 500 index hit a new record high on Monday as the stock market stretched its tech-fueled rally into another week.

The S&P closed with a gain of 34 points, or 1 percent, to set a new closing record at 3,431 on Monday after setting two new records last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained more than 378 points, rising roughly 1.4 percent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.6 percent.

After treading water earlier in August, the stock market has continued its steady rebound from the depths of the coronavirus crash in March to recover nearly all of its pandemic-driven losses.

Both the S&P and Nasdaq have broken records set before the market collapsed in February this summer, largely driven by the steady gains of major tech companies that have rebounded quickly from the pandemic. Experts say the market’s recovery is a function of the size of tech giants such as Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Netflix and how well they are positioned to weather the unique aspects of the pandemic.

“Momentum is mostly in the ‘growth’ stocks, meaning Tech, and until the trade stops working, portfolio managers might be tempted to keep putting money there,” wrote JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, in a Friday analysis.

But the broader economy is facing growing risks of deeper downturn as Republicans and Democrats remain divided over another fiscal stimulus bill.

The $600 boost to weekly unemployment benefits and federal protections from eviction and foreclosure have been expired for roughly a month now, and relief from the federal government may not come until well into September.

Updated at 5:10 p.m.