The S&P 500 edged up by 0.34 to 4,288.39, a rise that came off its worst month of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 74.15 points, or 0.2%, to 33.433.35, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 88.45, or 0.7%, to 13.307.77.
Slumps for oil-and-gas stocks were on the market yesterday after crude prices gave back some of the sharp gains made since the summer. The majority of stocks fell alongside them, with over three quarters of those within the S&P 500 sinking, but gains for Apple and other influential Big Tech stocks helped support indexes.
The market has largely given back 40 percent of their strong gains for the year since the end of July. Wall Street's growing acceptance that high interest rates are here to stay a while is the result of the Federal Reserve's efforts to reduce high inflation. In turn, it has driven up Treasury yields to their highest levels in more than a decade.
The 10-year Treasury yield climbed again Monday, to 4.67% from 4.58% late Friday, and is nearing its highest level since 2007.
Borrowing from high interest rates can make it more expensive for all types of companies, which can jeopardize their profits. Since the Federal Reserve announced last month it likely won't cut interest rates as much as before, the value of the U.S. dollar has also risen compared to other currencies. S&P 500 firms can be hit hard by the trip, which generates a significant portion of their revenue from abroad.
The economy has been on fire, denying predictions that it would have fallen into a recession by now.
Manufacturing has been one area that's been experiencing the sting of higher prices, and report Monday suggested it's still contracting, though perhaps not by as much as expected. In September, U.S. manufacturing shrank for an 11th consecutive month, the Institute for Supply Management said.
It's more encouraging for Wall Street that the report also showed that prices were easing in September. It may mean less pressure on inflation, which has been under intense heat recently due to the rise in oil prices.
Over the weekend, Congress prevented a shutdown of the federal government, which threatened to harm the economy and disrupt the publishing of economic data Wall Street finds crucial. But Capitol Hill just a temporarily delayed the threat, promising another showdown. Plus, traders are well aware the stock market has held up rather well through past shutdowns.