(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Eli Lily drops after 'mixed' data from mid-stage trial
* Carriers signal recovery in leisure bookings
* Growth stocks beat value
(Updates with close of trading)
By Noel Randewich
March 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street climbed on Monday, with the
S&P 500 closing at a record high, as investors awaited cues from
the Federal Reserve this week amid caution over rising borrowing
costs spurred by massive fiscal stimulus.
In a concrete sign that the worst of the damage from the
coronavirus pandemic may be over for the airline industry, Delta
Air Lines DAL.N , Southwest Airlines LUV.N and JetBlue
Airways JBLU.N said leisure bookings were rising. The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR jumped to a one-year
high, while other travel-related stocks, including Carnival Corp
CCL.N , Wynn Resorts WYNN.O and MGM Resorts MGM.N also
gained.
Most of the 11 major S&P sector indexes rose, led by
utilities .SPLRCU and real estate .SPLRCR .
Major stock indexes on Friday logged their best week in six
after mass vaccinations and congressional approval of a $1.9
trillion aid bill accelerated demand for stocks expected to
outperform as the economy reopens, such as banks, energy,
materials companies.
The Russell growth index .RLG outperformed the Russell
value index .RLV in a modest reversal of investors' recent
trend away from technology and other high-growth stocks.
"With the vaccine positive news and the stimulus, we think
there will continue to be a fair amount of rotation out of the
stay-at-home stocks," said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments.
"We are bullish on financial services and energy coming out of
the pandemic."
At the end of Fed's two-day meeting on Wednesday,
policymakers are expected to forecast that the U.S. economy will
grow in 2021 at its fastest rate in decades while reiterating
their dovish stance for the foreseeable future. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasuries US10YT=RR ticked
lower to 1.60%, below its 13-month peak of 1.64% on Friday. Wall
Street has been roiled in recent weeks by a spike in
longer-dated U.S. bond yields due to fears of an increase in
inflation.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
173.64 points, or 0.53%, to 32,952.28, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
25.43 points, or 0.64%, to 3,968.77 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 139.84 points, or 1.05%, to 13,459.71.
Tesla TSLA.O rose after the company added "Technoking of
Tesla" to Chief Executive Elon Musk's list of official titles in
a formal regulatory filing. Eli Lilly and Co shares LLY.N slumped around after a
mid-stage trial testing its experimental Alzheimer's drug led to
"mixed" results, reducing the chances for the drug's accelerated
approval, according to analysts.