Nasdaq, Dow Jones, S&P 500 end choppy session higher as oil falls
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Bolstered by late-day buying, the major U.S. equity indices finished Monday's trading higher, continuing the positive stance that has allowed stocks to rebound substantially over the previous two weeks. A sharp drop in oil prices contributed to the upswing. '
At the same time, the treasury market saw further flattening of the yield curve, with the two-year yield rising and the 10-year yield edging lower.
The Nasdaq (COMP.IND) led the gains among the major averages, end +1.3%. After spending a larger portion of the session with modest losses, the S&P 500 closed higher at +0.7%. The Dow pushed back above the unchanged mark late in the session, finishing +0.3%.
Looking at closing numbers, the Nasdaq gained 185.60 points to reach 14,354.90. The S&P 500 advanced 32.46 points to finish at 4,575.52. The Dow ended at 34,955.89, posting gains of 94.65 points.
Eight of the 11 S&P market segments ended the session with gains. Consumer Discretionary stocks posted the strongest advance, with notable strength also coming from Information Technology and Real Estate. Energy was the worst performer, falling about 2.5% amid the decline in oil.
Among the megacaps, Tesla (TSLA) rallied amid plans for a stock split, with the company asking shareholders to approve a stock dividend. 
Oil (CL1:COM) prices dropped sharply, falling more than 9% and reaching a level just above $103 a barrel.
In the bond market, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield dipped about 4 basis points to 2.46%. At the same time, the U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield rose three basis points to 2.33%. The move had the yield curve flattening further with the 2-10 spread sitting at less than 15 basis points. 
Morgan Stanleyâs equity research team put out an early market note that stated: "The Fed is committed to getting inflation under control even if it comes at the expense of growth. The questions for equity investors at this point is whether they believe the Fed will actually tighten this much and/or whether the economy can handle it? Near inversion of the yield curve suggests the bond market is taking the Fed at its word but it will be a challenge to orchestrate a soft landing."
It further added: âWe are downgrading Financials to Neutral on the back of our analysts downgrading banks to In-Line. Given our more late cycle view and forecast for a full inversion of the yield curve in 2Q, Financials will have a hard time outperforming.â
See below a year-to-date chart of all three major averages.