S&P, Dow again rise to record closes amid earnings

U.S. stocks stepped modestly higher on Monday, with health-care companies leading the charge that again lifted benchmarks to records, as investors tracked corporate results as the earnings season starts to wind down.

"There does seem to be a degree of momentum bouncing off the last three weeks. Health care in general is surging today, probably due to the pending review of the Affordable Care Act by the Supreme Court," said Jim Russell, portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor, referring to the high court's surprising announcement on Friday that it would hear a challenge to the subsidies that help people pay their insurance premiums.


Read more: "It's possible that the current rules in place around pricing and product pricing may be modified to some extent"