By STAN CHOE, AP Business Writer<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 U.S. stocks are drifting in mixed trading Monday, a downshift following bursts higher for stocks in Asia earlier in the day and\u00a0Wall Street\u2019s own rally to close last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and inched closer to its record set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 13 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.<\/p>\n The relatively modest moves followed a 3.9% burst higher for Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 to a record. Stocks rallied there following a\u00a0landslide victory for the prime minister\u2019s political party<\/a>\u00a0in a parliamentary election. The thought is that will give\u00a0Sanae Takaichi<\/a>\u00a0more power to push through reforms that will boost the economy and market.<\/p>\n On Wall Street, the U.S. stock market is coming off its best day since May to close last week, but several concerns still hang over the market. That includes criticism that stocks have simply become too expensive following their run to records.<\/p>\n Worries are also heavy about whether all the huge spending by Big Tech and other companies on AI can produce enough profit to make the investments worth it.<\/p>\n Slightly more stocks fell in the S&P 500 than rose, but some of the winners from that rush into AI helped prop up the market. Chip companies rose, for example, with Nvidia up 3.4% and Broadcom up 4%. They were two of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500.<\/p>\n Kroger climbed 6.3% after the\u00a0grocer named a former Walmart executive as its new chief executive officer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Transocean reversed an early loss and rose 2.8% after the offshore drilling company said it would buy Valaris in an all-stock deal valued at $5.8 billion. Valaris leaped 29%.<\/p>\n On the losing end was Hims & Hers, which sank 24.5% after Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit and alleged Hims & Hers is unlawfully selling versions of its weight-loss treatments. The suit follows a\u00a0move by the U.S Food and Drug Administration<\/a>\u00a0to restrict access to the ingredients needed to copy\u00a0popular weight-loss medications<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hims & Hers said, \u201cBig Phama is weaponizing the US judicial system to limit consumer choice\u201d in a post on the X account for the company\u2019s communications team.<\/p>\n Novo Nordisk\u2019s stock that trades in the United States rose 3.3%.<\/p>\n Workday fell 6.7% after the AI platform said its CEO, Carl Eschenbach, is stepping down. Company Co-founder Aneel Bhusri is returning as chief executive.<\/p>\n In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of several potentially market-moving reports coming later in the week. The U.S. government will offer the latest monthly update on the health of the job market on Wednesday. Friday will bring the latest monthly reading of inflation at the consumer level.<\/p>\n Either report could sway expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates. The\u00a0Fed has put its cuts to interest rates on hold<\/a>, but a weakening of the job market could push it to resume more quickly. Too-hot inflation, on the other hand, could keep it on hold for longer.<\/p>\n One of the reasons the U.S. stock market remains close to records is the expectation that the Fed will continue cutting interest rates later this year. Lower rates can give the economy a boost, though they can also worsen inflation.<\/p>\n The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.21% from 4.22% late Friday.<\/p>\n Other markets that had whipped through more violent moves over recent weeks were showing some more strength or stability.<\/p>\n Gold rose 2.3% to climb back above $5,000 per ounce. It\u2019s been swinging sharply after roughly doubling in price over 12 months and, it has bounced between $4,500 and nearly $5,600. Silver, whose price has been even wilder, jumped 7.6% Monday.<\/p>\n