Stocks near records as inflation slows Stock market today: Wall Street rises to the edge of records as its momentum keeps rolling

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks ticked to the edge of records Monday as Wall Street's momentum keeps driving it upward.

The S&P 500 rose 15.87 points, or 0.3%, to 5,631.22 and finished just shy of its all-time high set last week. It's coming off its 10th winning week in the last 12, lifted in large part by expectations that inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to ease interest rates soon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 210.82, or 0.5%, to 40,211.72 and set its own record, while the Nasdaq composite added 74.12, or 0.4%, to 18,472.57 and ended a bit short of its high.

Some of the market's best performing areas were ones that do best when former President Donald Trump's chances for election look better. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Trump's Truth Social platform, leaped 31.4%. Bitcoin rose back above $63,000 after Trump, who has painted himself as a crypto-friendly candidate, survived an assassination attempt over the weekend.

Yields for longer-term Treasurys also pushed higher than shorter-term ones, and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.22% from 4.19% late Friday. Something similar happened after last month's debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, when traders made moves in anticipation of a Republican sweep in November that could ultimately mean policies that would raise the U.S. government's debt.

Stocks of big financial companies, which could benefit from a lighter regulatory touch from a Republican administration, also helped lead the market.

Expectations are high coming into this earnings reporting season, which unofficially got underway last week. Analysts are forecasting companies in the S&P 500 will deliver overall growth of 9.3% from a year earlier, according to FactSet. That would be the strongest growth in more than two years.

Such forecasts have been one of the forces pushing U.S. stocks toward records. So have encouraging reports on inflation, which have shown enough of a slowdown for much of Wall Street to expect the Federal Reserve to begin cutting its main interest rate in September.

For roughly a year, the Fed has been keeping its main interest rate at the highest level in more than two decades. Lower rates would release pressure that's built up on the economy because of how expensive it's become to borrow money to buy houses, cars, or anything on credit cards. Fed officials, though, have been saying they want to see "more good data" on inflation before making a move.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said again Monday he won't send any signals about when the Fed may cut interest rates. But he also said Fed officials understand the risks of waiting both too long and not long enough.