With the unprecedented and decades overdue infrastructure package passing the Senate, promising lots of added support for the recovery, the Dow and S&P were once again pushed into records with the markets approving of this bill and very much betting against the much more ambitious bill not making it through the House.  Once again the cyclical stocks were the top performers and growth took a holiday. Inflation will remain a key issue and the reports this week will be watched carefully.  Volume again came in below average at just under 9 billion. 

Tue  August 10, 2021  4:59 PM

Dow, S&P 500 hit records as infrastructure bill passes Senate

Chuck Mikolajczak

DJ: 35,101.85  -106.66        NAS: 14,860.18  +24.42        S&P: 4,432.35  -4.17        8/9

DJ: 35,264.67  +162.82       NAS: 14,788.09  -72.09         S&P: 4,436.75  +4.40       8/10

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The blue-chip Dow and the benchmark S&P 500 rose to record highs on Tuesday, buoyed by gains in economically sensitive value stocksafter the Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.  The bill, which now heads to the House of Representatives, could provide the nation's biggest investment in decades in roads, bridges, airports and waterways. Senators also began voting on a follow-up $3.5 trillion spending package that Democrats plan to pass without Republican votes. read more  "The market is looking at it as part one is a done deal, the market is OK with that," said Ken Polcari, managing partner at Kace Capital Advisors in Boca Raton, Florida.

"I do not believe the market is going to be OK with $3.5 trillion but there is still the possibility they are able to block it, or slow it, and have more conversation so the market isn’t focusing on that one yet."

Energy (.SPNY), industrials (.SPLRCI) and materials (.SPLRCM), which stand to benefit from an economic recovery, were the top performing sectors, while names such as Caterpillar (CAT.N), Deere (DE.N) and Vulcan Materials (VMC.N) each rose about 2% as they are poised to reap the benefits of infrastructure projects.  The iShares US Infrastructure ETF (IFRA.Z) rose 1.39% and the Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF (PAVE.Z) advanced 2.17%.  Energy shares also moved higher as crude prices rebounded more than 2%. read more 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162.82 points, or 0.46%, to 35,264.67, the S&P 500 gained 4.4 points, or 0.10%, to 4,436.75 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 72.09 points, or 0.49%, to 14,788.09.

With new coronavirus cases rising in the United States, progress on the infrastructure package should support the recovery in the world's largest economy.  The rapid spread of the Delta variant has pushed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations to a six-month high, with cases averaging 100,000 for three days in a row - up 35% over the past week. read more

Investor will also watch inflation numbers this week for more insight into the Federal Reserve's monetary policy plans, in the wake of comments from two Fed officials on Monday that inflation was already at a level that could satisfy one portion of the requirement for the beginning of rate hikes. read more

AMC Entertainment (AMC.N) gave up early gains and was last down 5.16% even after beating second-quarter revenue estimates as moviegoers returned to its theaters after a year of closures and restrictions. read more Kansas City Southern (KSU.N) gained 7.4% after Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (CP.TO) raised its offer for the U.S. railroad operator by about $2 billion to $27.29 billion. read more

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.19-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.16-to-1 ratio favored decliners.  The S&P 500 posted 50 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 82 new highs and 95 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 8.99 billion shares, compared with the 9.61 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.