S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notch longest streak of gains in two years

Wall Street gained Tuesday as the continued slide in Treasury yields helped propel stocks higher.

The S&P 500 index climbed for the seventh day in a row, its longest streak of gains since November 2021, when the benchmark index rose for eight straight sessions. The Nasdaq Composite also notched its longest string of gains since then.

The Dow rose 57 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.9%.

After surging in late October to touch 5%, its highest level in over a decade, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note has started to pull back. That trend continued Tuesday as investors parsed comments from several Federal Reserve officials, including Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who said Tuesday on CNBC that he believes it is possible for inflation to come down without triggering a recession.

Yields have pulled back in recent weeks after the Federal Reserve’s interest rate pause in November and a softer-than-expected labor report boosted Wall Street’s bets that the central bank is done hiking rates.

That’s helped stocks rally this month, after the S&P 500 in October logged its longest streak of monthly declines since 2020. Seasonal factors are also on investors’ side in November.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.57% on Tuesday, compared to Monday’s close of 4.66%.

Tech stocks rose, buoyed by the drop in yields. Microsoft shares rose 1.1% to $360.53, a new record high. Amazon shares gained 2.1%, Meta Platforms increased 1% and Apple climbed 1.4%.

Meanwhile, oil prices sank on Tuesday, after fresh data showed that China exports logged a steeper-than-expected decline last month from a year earlier. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the US benchmark, settled at $77.37 a barrel.

Energy stocks fell. Halliburton shares slipped 4%, Chevron declined 1.8% and ExxonMobil lost 1.6%.

Uber shares added 3.7% after the ride-hailing company reported misses on third-quarter earnings and revenue but issued fourth-quarter gross bookings guidance above analyst expectations.

Datadog shares jumped 28.5% after the company reported a beat on third-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook.

Investors are looking to comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell set to be delivered on Wednesday and Thursday.

As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might change slightly.