Stocks Rise for Fourth Consecutive Week.

Stocks solidified a fourth consecutive week of gains, with the S&P 500 rising 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite falling 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. All three major indexes are on track for their best monthly performance in over a year. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note increased as bond prices fell. Traders are pricing in a 23% chance of the Federal Reserve cutting short-term rates at its March policy meeting. Healthcare was the top-performing sector, while communications services were the biggest laggard. Gold futures closed above $2,000 per troy ounce for the first time since May, and Bitcoin rose above $38,000. In overseas trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell about 2% and the Shanghai Composite shed 0.7%, while the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3% and Germany's Dax index gained 0.2%. [Extracted from the article]