Some of the world’s largest technology companies led stocks to a fresh record on Monday, extending a rally that’s already added US$6 trillion in value to the equity market this year.

After swinging between gains and losses throughout most of the session, the S&P 500 moved higher on news that Facebook Inc. won dismissal of two monopoly lawsuits. Some of the stay-at-home darlings like Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Zoom Video Communications Inc. climbed as the reflation trade waned. Cruise operators and airlines sank as governments from Europe to Asia imposed new limits on travel from Britain -- which is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases.

With stocks on track for one of their best first halves in history, the debate over elevated valuations is coming back to the forefront. The S&P 500 is trading above the average of the past decade, and this quarter potentially marking the peak of a profit recovery from the depths of the pandemic. Meantime, demand for protection against losses in coming months has risen in the options market.

“Investors should not be looking for stocks to move higher in a straight line, but rather prepare for the economic recovery taking shape,” John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer, wrote to clients. “We look for progress, not perfection in the economic data this week, with the potential for any disappointments to give rise to volatility, and with results that are better than expected likely to provide positive offsets.”

Traders will sift through readings on consumer confidence, housing, manufacturing and the labor market over the course of the week -- with Friday’s jobs report forecast to show an acceleration in payrolls growth.

Here are some events to watch in the markets this week:

• OECD meets in Paris to finalize a proposal to overhaul global minimum corporate taxation Wednesday
• China’s President Xi Jinping will deliver a speech as the nation marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party Thursday
• OPEC+ ministerial meeting Thursday
• ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks Friday
• The U.S. jobs report is due Friday

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent as of 4 p.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 1.3 per cent
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 per cent
• The MSCI World index was little changed

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1 per cent
• The euro fell 0.1 per cent to US$1.1922
• The British pound was little changed at US$1.3875
• The Japanese yen rose 0.1 per cent to 110.62 per dollar

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 1.48 per cent
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to -0.19 per cent
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 0.72 per cent

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.7 per cent to US$72.76 a barrel
• Gold futures were little changed

--With assistance from Andreea Papuc, Yakob Peterseil, Kamaron Leach and Lu Wang.