The persistent climb in US equities continued on Monday, propelled by a flurry of deals as traders mostly ignored tempered messaging from Federal Reserve officials.
The S&P 500 surged 0.5% Monday, following a seven-week bull run, as more than $40 billion in mergers and acquisitions hit the wire after months of dismal volumes, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6% to close at a record for the second straight session. The VIX, Wall Street's fear measure, hovered around 12, within striking reach of recent multi-year lows.
Near-term data readouts such as durable goods orders, personal consumption expenditures - the Fed's favored indicator of inflation - and the final third-quarter GDP estimate may determine if the S&P 500 can prolong its run for an eighth week.
While stocks largely ignored Federal Reserve officials seeking to temper expectations for earlier and deeper-than-expected rate cuts, the rally in Treasuries paused Monday, with yields on the two-year approaching 4.5% and the 10-year approaching 4%, and the dollar holding steady as the yen fell.
Fed's Goolsbee and Cleveland Fed's Mester were the latest central bank officials to join a rising chorus of central bank officials moderating market exuberance after their New York counterpart John Williams last week suggested bets on a March decrease were premature.
