How the Dow Jones industrial average finished Monday

The S&P 500 posted 111 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 451 new highs and 23 new lows.

The S&P Midcap 400 also hit a record and ended just shy, up 1.1% at 1696 and led by Ciena Corp (NYSE:CIEN) up 15.1% at $24.87. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 9840.10 for a gain of 132.21 points or 1.36%.

Nike rose 3 percent, the biggest gain in the Dow Jones industrial average.

The S&P 500 .SPX was up 1.43 points, or 0.06 percent, at 2,242.78, slightly below its high of 2,244.03.

Stocks moved steadily higher throughout the day after a mixed open. Bond yields are falling, and investors seeking income are buying stocks that pay large dividends, like real estate investment trusts, utilities and phone companies.

Investors have driven up equities since Trump’s 8 November election over optimism about domestic economic stimulus and reduced corporate taxes and regulations.

Small-company stocks again outpaced the rest of the market as the Russell 2000 jumped 1.8%. The stocks had also reached all-time highs earlier this year.

You are reading news and information on LongIsland.com, Long Island’s Most Popular Website, Since 1996.

The euro fell as low as $US1.0508 and the Milan bourse shed as much as two per cent at the opening, while Italian bond yields spiked sharply higher. Treasury yields were lower across the yield curve with the 10-year note richer to 2.349% and the 30-yr bond yield topping 3.00%. Those stocks are often seen as similar to bonds, and investors are less attracted to them when bond yields rise.

On the commodity markets, the January crude oil contract fell $1.16 to US$49.77 per barrel, while the January contract for natural gas pulled back three cents at US$3.60 per mmBTU.

Missing out on the rally: Health care stocks.

Meanwhile the Nasdaq biotechnology index, which fell nearly 3% on Wednesday after Trump said in a magazine interview that he will bring down drug prices, continued its decline.

The stock rally since President-elect Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is now the biggest for any new president since Ronald Reagan.

RUSSELL RISING: Small-company stocks rose more than the rest of the market. Energy Transfer Equity gave up 38 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $16.10. Banks put up some of the biggest gains, as did technology companies, which have been mostly left out of a post-election rally. However, it’s not clear if Softbank’s announcement is new. T-Mobile shares rose on speculation that it could be acquired in de-regulatory Trump White House, possibly by SoftBank.

European stock indexes jumped as investors anticipated that the European Central Bank will extend its bond-buying stimulus program Thursday. Investors were focused the European Central Bank’s meeting later in the day. France’s CAC 40 added 1.3 percent, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5 percent and Germany’s DAX rose 0.8 percent.

Costco (COST.O) rose 1.67 percent to $156.42 in thin trading after the warehouse club retailer reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts’ expectations.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to finish at 18,496.69. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.9% to 5,478.10. South Korea’s Kospi was little changed, inching up 0.1% to 1,991.89.