Wall Street rose today, with the S&P 500 and Dow hitting new intraday record highs, as investors braced for a week of corporate earnings and key economic data that will likely test stretched stock market valuations.

Chip stocks fueled gains for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, with the benchmark index building on the record close it hit on Friday after major banks got off to a positive start to the corporate third-quarter earnings season.

An index of semiconductor companies rose 1.5% to a more than two-month high, led by Nvidia’s 2.5% rise. Among other growth stocks, Apple and Microsoft rose 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.

“There remains a belief that the economy continues to progress, albeit slowly, and optimism that third-quarter earnings will be good and probably hopefully better than expected,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management.

“People are returning to these mega-cap technology stocks that have been left out in search of rotation deals.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 180.04 points, or 0.42%, to 43,043.90, the S&P 500 gained 40.05 points, or 0.69%, to 5,855.08 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 145.85 points or 0.80% to 18,488.79.

However, Dow Jones gains were held back by a 1.5% decline in Caterpillar following a downgrade by the broker and a 0.7% decline in Boeing after the aircraft maker reported a larger-than-expected third-quarter loss on Friday had.

Energy stocks fell 0.2%, tracking lower oil prices.

The bank results may have raised hopes that solid results could help stocks continue their strong rally in 2024. However, given stretched stock valuations – the S&P 500 trades at 21.8 times forward earnings, versus a long-term average of 15.7 – companies may struggle to keep investors happy.

October marks the second year since the end of the last bear market in 2022, with the S&P 500 up more than 63% since its close on October 12, 2022.

41 S&P 500 companies are expected to report results this week. Third-quarter earnings growth for the S&P 500 is estimated at 4.9% year-over-year, according to data compiled by LSEG on Friday.

Investors will also be watching key economic data, particularly September retail sales, for clues about the financial health of U.S. consumers.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said he expects modest rate cuts as inflation hovers near the central bank’s 2 percent target. Fed Governor Christopher Waller will also speak later in the day.

Trading was somewhat subdued on the day as bond markets were closed for a holiday.

According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, bets for a 25 basis point cut at the Fed’s November meeting stood at 86.1% as traders scaled back expectations of an outsized cut.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies fell, with Alibaba down 1.2% and PDD Holdings down 4.6%, as investors puzzled over the extent of broader stimulus measures announced by China on Saturday.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining issues on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.21 to 1 and by a ratio of 1.2 to 1 on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 recorded 73 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 123 new highs and 59 new lows.