U.S. stocks posted closing records Monday, shaking off their losses from earlier in the session. Shares of economically sensitive companies have helped lead the stock market higher this month, a trend investors have attributed to bets that growth and inflation will pick up. The vaccine rollout has proceeded faster than expected, making investors more optimistic about the outlook for the second half of the year. Congress has also passed an additional $1.9 trillion in fiscal stimulus to help boost the economy. Many analysts believe the combination of factors should help consumer spending—a powerful driver of overall economic growth—rebound, especially in the second half of the year. That in turn should be a boon to corporate profits. “With the reopening of the economy, this fiscal stimulus in the form of checks will have a stronger impact on consumption,” said Carsten Brzeski, ING Groep’s global head of macro research. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 174.82 points, or 0.5%, to 32953.46, posting its 14th record close of the year. The S&P 500 added 25.60 points, or 0.6%, to a record close of 3968.94, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 139.84 points, or 1%, to 13459.71. Technology shares helped pushed indexes higher Monday, rallying in the afternoon after starting off the day mostly weaker. Nvidia jumped $13.41, or 2.6%, to $527.65, while Akamai Technologies climbed $2.44, or 2.5%, to $99.99. Falling oil prices put pressure on the energy sector. Occidental Petroleum lost $1.33, or 4.3%, to $29.30, while ConocoPhillips declined $1.03, or 1.7%, to $58.16. U.S. crude oil fell 0.3% to $65.39 a barrel, extending losses after notching its biggest one-week decline since December. AMC Entertainment soared $2.88, or 26%, to $14.04, boosted by news that it is reopening movie theaters in Los Angeles this week. Meanwhile, a handful of stocks rose after S&P Dow Jones Indices said late Friday that they would be joining the S&P 500 effective March 22. Shares of Caesars Entertainment climbed 58 cents, or 0.6%, to $101.20, while NXP Semiconductors added $16.44, or 9%, to $199.91 and Penn National Gaming gained $6, or 4.6%, to $136.47. Government bonds strengthened, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note ticking lower to 1.609%. It ended Friday at 1.634%, the highest since Feb. 6, 2020. Yields fall as bond prices rise. Later this week, investors will parse the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement for guidance on policy makers’ views on the economic outlook. “The Fed meeting will clearly be crucial and essential in terms of further educating markets as to what the Fed is up to,” Mr. Brzeski said. Some money managers are worried that a large fiscal package could lead to sharply higher inflation, forcing the Fed to boost interest rates sooner than policy makers have suggested they would. “The Fed needs to send a message here that it is still mindful of the substantial progress that is required before the economy is returned to pre-pandemic conditions, but equally, it’s not going to be too forceful because some of these moves are warranted based on fundamentals,” said James Ashley, head of international market strategy at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “So it is, how do you calibrate that message in a way that is neither too dovish or too hawkish.” Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 ended unchanged. Major equity benchmarks in Asia were mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index fell almost 1%, and South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.3% lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.2%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.3%. The stock market last week resumed its rally. Photo: Nicole Pereira/NYSE/Associated Press Write to Caitlin Ostroff at caitlin.ostroff@wsj.com and Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8