Stock market today: Indexes rise and bond yields soar as 2nd half of the year kicks off

Major stock indexes ended higher to kick off the second half of 2024. Bond yields jumped as markets assessed the election outlook in the US and Europe.

• US stocks rose Monday, extending bullish momentum into the year's second half.
• The 10-year Treasury yield spiked 13 basis points to 4.479%. 
• Investors are eyeing the Friday's upcoming jobs report to gauge where interest rates are headed.

US stocks ended higher on Monday to start the second half of the year, rising even as bond yields soared during the session.

Stocks wrapped up the first half of 2024 with strong gains, with the S&P 500 up 14% and Nasdaq Composite up 18%. Strength among tech stocks and investor confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year should keep the momentum going. However, fear has mounted around concentration in the market, as just a handful of stocks have been helping to drive the market to record highs.

Meanwhile, shifting outlooks on the US election have added uncertainty to the bond market, and yields on the 10-year Treasury surgedon Monday. After candidate Joe Biden and Donald Trump debated on Thursday, odds of a Trump win rose about 6 percentage points, Goldman Sachs reported. Traders were also assessing volatility stemming from European elections as right-wing candidates in France led in the first round of the general election.

The 10-year Treasury yield spiked 12 basis points to 4.469%.

Federal Reserve officials Jerome Powell and John Williams are scheduled to speak this week, setting the tone ahead of this month's policy meeting. However, investor attention will primarily be drawn to June's job report, scheduled to be released on Friday. Economists project 190,000 positions added last month, a cooldown from May.

Any surprises to expectations for jobs added last month could weigh on the Fed's future monetary policy. At present, markets expect rate cuts to start in November, CME FedWatch Tool data shows.

Among individual stock movers on Monday, Chewy whiplashed after meme-trading legend Keith Gill disclosed a $245 million stake in the company.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:

• S&P 500: 5,475.09, up 0.27%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 39,169.52, up 0.13% (+50.66 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 17,879.30, up 0.83%

Here's what else is going on today:

• Bitcoin is on track to reach $150,000 by year-end, Fundstrat's Tom Lee predicts.
• Tesla's comeback story is starting, and the EV-maker is about to start a new rally in the second half, Wedbush Securities says.
• Investors shouldn't expect the 2016 trading playbook to work in a second Trump presidency, Morgan Stanley says.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 2.3% to $86.85 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed 2.2% to $83.44 a barrel.
• Gold inched higher 0.19% to $2,330 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield soared 12 basis points to 4.469%.
• Bitcoin gained 1.11% to $63,382.