Stocks Opened at Record Highs on Stimulus Expectations

U.S. stocks opened at record highs on Monday, on the belief that new stimulus will help heat up a struggling U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 192.49 points, or 0.62%, to 31,340.73. The S&P 500 added 19.37 points, or 0.50%, to 3,906.20. The Nasdaq Composite gained 82.17 points, or 0.59%, to 13,938.46.

Brent crude prices hit $60 a barrel for the first time in over a year on Monday, boosted by pandemic-recovery optimism and after President Joe Biden pushed back against immediately lifting sanctions on Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery rose 66 cents or 1%, to $57.52 a barrel. April Brent crude climbed to a session high of $60.27 a barrel.

Investor optimism over another round of fiscal stimulus out of Washington helped boost U.S. equities over the past week. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CBS on Sunday the U.S. could return to full employment by 2022 – or two to three years ahead of some current projections – if measures in Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan were enacted.

Tesla (TSLA) disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday that it purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin after an update to the company’s investment policy allowed it to allocate a portion of its cash to alternative reserve assets including the cryptocurrency.