(Bloomberg) — The relentless rally in US stocks extended Monday, buoyed by a burst of deals as traders largely ignored tempered messaging from Federal Reserve officials.
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On the heels of a seven-week bull run, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% as more than $40 billion of mergers and acquisitions hit the wire Monday after months of disappointing volumes. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.6%, to close at a record for the second consecutive session.
Read more: Dealmakers Unveil $40 Billion M&A Flurry in Year’s Last Hurrah
Wall Street’s fear gauge — the VIX — continued to hover around 12, within striking distance of recent multi-year lows.
“This week we’ll see whether the stock market’s seasonal tendency to rally in the second half of December bumps up against potential exhaustion amid one of the strongest short-term rallies of the past several years,” Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E*Trade…
