Dow, S&P 500 close at record highs as stimulus-fueled optimism continues

• US stocks gained at the close with the Dow Jones hitting a closing record as investors applauded passage of the stimulus bill.
• According to one strategist, retail investors could buy a record $ 3 billion of U.S. stocks when they receive stimulus checks.
• Airlines shares rose after the TSA revealed that air travel reached its highest level in nearly a year.
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U.S. stocks gained at the close with the Dow Jones hitting a closing record as investors remained bullish on economic growth after President Biden signed the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus package last week.

Retail investors could buy a record $ 3 billion of U.S. stocks in a single day when they receive their $ 1,400 stimulus checks from the U.S. government, according to Viraj Patel, macro-global strategist at Vanda Research. This could happen as early as Wednesday or Thursday, when most Americans will start to see $ 1,400 deposited into their bank accounts.

Here’s where the U.S. indices were after the 4:00 p.m. close on Monday:

Shares of major airlines, including American Airlines, United, Delta and Southwest, rose on Monday on optimism for a travel rebound in sight after the Transportation Security Administration revealed that air travel peaked. in almost a year.

AMC shares climbed 29%, extending this year’s stunning streak as the film channel begins reopening theaters in California.

Penn National Gaming climbed to a record high of $ 142 per share on Monday as investors applauded its inclusion in the S&P 500 next week. The Barstool Sports stakeholder has gained nearly 3,000% in the past year.

Short sellers tripled bearish bets against SPACs to $ 2.7 billion, from $ 724 million at the start of 2021, data from S3 Partners shows, fearing the blank-chec frenzy has gone too far .

Bitcoin returned to around $ 56,500 on Monday after going above $ 61,000 over the weekend. A report says India could fine anyone in the country for even owning such digital assets.

Oil prices have fallen. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.38% to $ 65.36 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark for oil, fell 0.5% to $ 68.88 per barrel.

Gold jumped 0.6% to $ 1,730.30 an ounce.