US Stocks Rise After 2 Weeks of Losses

(AP) -- Stocks were moderately higher in early trading Monday, starting the market on a positive note after posting two straight weeks of losses. Markets continue to watch for potential signs of inflation as the economic recovery continues in the waning days of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic.

The S&P 500 index was up 0.8% as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.2%.

Technology stocks were among the bigger gainers in early trading, particularly semiconductor companies. Nvidia and Micron both rose more than 2%.

Earnings season at this point is near its end. Investors will get results from Dell and Salesforce.com this week, among a few others.

There's only a handful of economic reports this week, including monthly home sales. On Friday, investors will get another reading on inflation in the form of the Commerce Department's personal consumption and expenditures index. "Core PCE," as it is known, is the preferred way Federal Reserve policymakers choose to measure inflation in the U.S. instead of the more widely known consumer price index that's reported earlier in the month.

Economists surveyed by FactSet expect Core PCE to be up 3% from a year ago, which would be above the Federal Reserve's targeted level for inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.61% from 1.63% Friday.

Digital currencies like Bitcoin were volatile once again after plummeting over the last two weeks. Bitcoin rose 13% to around $38,000. It was worth more than $65,000 earlier in the month.

Virgin Galactic jumped 17% after the company made its first rocket-powered flight from New Mexico to the fringe of space in a manned shuttle over the weekend.