How major US stock indexes fared Monday, 5/19/2025

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U.S. stocks, bonds and the value of the U.S. dollar drifted Monday following the latest reminder that the U.S government seems to be hurtling toward an unsustainable mountain of debt.

Moody’s Ratings became the last of the three major credit-rating agencies to say the U.S. federal government no longer deserves a top-tier “Aaa” rating.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq was little changed.

In the bond market, the 30-year Treasury yield briefly jumped above 5% before calming a bit. The issues Moody’s cited in its downgrade are all well known among investors.

On Monday:

The S&P 500 rose 5.22 points, or 0.1%, to 5,963.60.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 137.33 points, or 0.3%, to 42,792.07.

The Nasdaq composite rose 4.36 points, or less than 0.1%, to 19,215.46.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 8.82 points, or 0.4%, to 2,104.43.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 81.97 points, or 1.4%.

The Dow is up 247.85 points, or 0.6%.

The Nasdaq is down 95.33, or 0.5%.

The Russell 2000 is down 125.72 points, or 5.6%.