Stocks rise to start the week | Just shy of record close | Gold stock soars on Buffett

The S&P 500 rose slightly on Monday to start the week, but fell short of a record closing high once again

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE MON, AUG 17, 2020 EVENING BRIEF AS OF MON, AUG 17, 2020 • 04:27 ET DJIA 27844.91 -0.31% -86.11 S&P 500 3381.99 +0.27% +9.14 NASDAQ 11129.72 +1.00% +110.42   Most Active DOW NAME LAST CHG %CHG CSCO 42.09 -0.41 -0.96% AAPL 458.43 -1.20 -0.26% BA 172.01 -6.07 -3.41% S&P 500 NAME LAST CHG %CHG F 6.98 -0.06 -0.85% GE 6.47 -0.19 -2.85% BAC 25.90 -0.57 -2.15% NASDAQ NAME LAST CHG %CHG AAL 12.62 -0.71 -5.33% JD 66.98 +4.92 +7.93% AMD 82.42 +1.12 +1.38%   EDITOR'S NOTE The summer doldrums were squarely on Wall Street once again.   Monday marked the 10th time in 11 sessions this month that the S&P 500 failed to post a move of at least 1% in either direction on a closing basis. By comparison, July experienced six moves of that magnitude, with four of them coming in the first 11 sessions of the month. June, meanwhile, saw 11 moves of at least 1%; five of those in the first 11 sessions of the month.   Trading volume was also subdued. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the broader market index, had share volume well below its 30-day average of 61.9 million. This muted action comes as the S&P 500 is struggling to reach a new high. On Monday, the index traded above its all-time closing high before easing back below it. The benchmark is also less than 1% from an intraday record of 3,393.52.   The S&P 500's inability to break above its all-time high comes as lawmakers remain in a stalemate over further coronavirus stimulus.   Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird, thinks investors should brace for an uptick in volatility as the U.S. presidential election draws near.   "Typically, the race for the White House tightens in September and October resulting in a rising level of uncertainty for the financial markets," Bittles wrote in a note. "In the past, this has triggered an increase in stock market volatility."   Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world. Fred Imbert | CNBC Markets Reporter @foimbert TOP NEWS  S&P 500 rises to start the week, but comes up just short of a record close Barrick Gold's stock soars after Buffett's Berkshire reveals stake Warren Buffett's unusual gold bet could act as a great hedge against his 'hot beta' Apple stake Epic Games says Apple threatened to cut it out of the App Store entirely Latest on the coronavirus Barneys' savior Authentic Brands is sitting on about $1 billion in cash and on the hunt to buy more troubled retailers Pizza Hut to close up to 300 locations operated by bankrupt franchisee What's ahead for your taxes if Biden wins the election USPS chief Louis DeJoy agrees to testify before Congress next week 'You can't fix stupid' — Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro rips Kodak executives as dumbest ever   TOP VIDEO How this hedge fund saw a 4000% return on investment amid the pandemic   CNBC PRO Seth Klarman dumped energy and bought health stocks last quarter. Here's what he's betting on now   SPECIAL REPORTS ETFs pace for a record year — here are the funds seeing the highest inflows Two of the most-hated stocks on Wall Street could be best recovery plays, traders say   Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2020 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS