Wall St mixed with stimulus in focus; Dow hits over 5-month high

The S&P 500 and Dow rose on Monday, as investors rotated into value stocks from heavyweight tech-focused companies while awaiting word on progress in the fiscal support bill for the country's battered economy.

The Nasdaq, which hit a record high every day of last week, was dragged lower by Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc. The Dow index touched a more than five-month high, boosted by growth-linked industrial and financials stocks.

Bets on a potential coronavirus vaccine, historic fiscal and monetary support, and more recently, a better-than-expected second quarter earnings season have brought the S&P 500 to within 1% of its February record high.

"Particularly for many people who missed the rally, (cyclicals) is the only place where you can still find value," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great Hill Capital Llc in New York.

All three indexes opened higher after US President Donald Trump signed executive orders that partly restored enhanced unemployment benefits after talks between the White House and top Democrats in Congress about fresh stimulus broke down last week.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, in an interview to CNBC on Monday, said the Trump administration and Congress could reach an agreement as soon as this week if Democrats are "reasonable."

Value stocks, which tend to outperform growth coming out of a recession, have gotten a lift in recent days. The Russell 1000 value index rose 0.7% on Monday, while the Russell 1000 growth index slipped 0.3%.

"It's going to take a while before we can see some real good growth, but the market seems to be betting otherwise," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

At 13:03 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 272.55 points, or 0.99%, at 27,706.03, the S&P 500 was up 6.08 points, or 0.18%, at 3,357.36. The Nasdaq Composite was down 41.80 points, or 0.38%, at 10,969.18.

Energy and industrials, among the worst performers this year, led gains among major S&P sectors. Technology and communication services fell about 0.8% each.

Among individual movers, Eastman Kodak Co sank 27.5% after its $765-million loan agreement with the US government to produce pharmaceutical ingredients was put on hold due to "recent allegations of wrongdoing."

Microsoft Corp fell 2.2% as sources said its bid to carve out parts of TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance will be a technically complex endeavor.

Mall owner Simon Property Group rose 7.3% after a report that it has been in talks with Amazon.com Inc about turning some of its department-store sites into Amazon fulfillment centers. The company's quarterly results are due after markets close on Monday.

Nike surged 4.4% to a record high after footwear retailer Foot Locker, to which Nike supplies, said same-store sales increased about 18% in the second quarter. Foot Locker shares rose 6.3%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.60-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.66-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 36 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 95 new highs and nine new lows.