Welcome to MarketBites! Here's all you need to know about yesterday's market news.

“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming."

- Richard Branson

MARKET PERFORMANCE

PORTFOLIO MANAGER COMMENTARY

The Dow rose slightly Monday, as Wall Street fought to hold onto last week’s gains and investors braced for a busy week of economic news. Bond yields rose slightly, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note last trading up more than a basis point after surging above the psychological 4% level at various points last week. An upward move raises borrowing costs for consumers and could signal a drop in investor confidence.

Despite these moves, some tech stocks pushed higher, with Apple jumping nearly 2% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a buy rating. The iPhone maker accounts for about 7% of the S&P. Alphabet and Microsoft also gained. 

Investors are awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell congressional testimony slated for Tuesday and Wednesday. The remarks will guide investors and lawmakers on how the central bank is thinking about inflation and its rate-hiking campaign, and they could determine where the market goes from here.

CHART OF THE DAY

Over six months through January, payrolls in 72% of industries tracked by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics continued to expand. That was down from an exceptionally high 90% last March, but still well above an average of 62% over the past three decades. During the last four recessions, by contrast, contracting industries exceeded expanding industries by a ratio of as much as 10-to-1.

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING

• The U.S. is not yet ready for a 'Great Power' conflict - read here
• China’s Xi Jinping Takes Rare Direct Aim at U.S. in Speech - read here
• JetBlue, Spirit brace for Justice Department lawsuit to block merger - read here