S&P 500 Index opens modestly higher, financial stocks post strong gains

• Wall Street’s main indexes opened in the positive territory.
• Financial stocks push higher supported by rising US T-bond yields.

Major equity indexes in the US opened slightly higher on Monday as investors gear up for key earnings figures, FOMC policy meeting and high-tier macroeconomic data releases later in the week.  

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.15% on the day at 34,093, the S&P 500 Index was rising 0.12% at 4,185 and the Nasdaq Composite was virtually unchanged at 13,927.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Financials Index is rising 1% on a daily basis supported by a modest increase seen in the 10-year US T-bond yield. On the other hand, the Consumer Staples Index is the worst performer after the opening bell, losing 0.7%.

S&P 500 chart (daily)