US stocks rise as Russia and Ukraine enter a new round of cease-fire talks

• The S&P 500 gained ground Monday as the 4th round of talks between Russia and Ukraine gets underway.
• The Nasdaq Composite slipped with tech stocks eyeing the 10-year yield above 2%.

US stocks were mostly higher on Monday on optimism for a halt in Russia's war against Ukraine as the two countries began new discussions.

The S&P 500 and the Dow industrials pushed higher while the Nasdaq Composite slipped. Tech stock investors cast an eye toward the 10-year Treasury yield which rose to its highest since 2019 as it reached above 2%. Stocks dropped last week, led by a more than 3% fall for the Nasdaq Composite.

The fourth round of talks between Russia and Ukraine was reportedly underway. A Ukrainian official told the BBC that Russia appeared ready to start "constructive negotiations."

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Monday:

• S&P 500: 4,214.32, up 0.24%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,119.52, up 0.53% (175.33 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 12,792.23, down 0.41%

Investors are also focused on the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee this week. The rate-setting board of the Federal Reserve is expected to announced the first of a series of rate increases slated for 2022, bringing an end to an era of unprecedented easy monetary policy meant to boost the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oil prices dropped. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 4.1% to $104.84 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 3.5% to $108.72.

Gold prices slipped 0.9% to $1,968.20 per ounce.

The 10-year yield rose eight basis points to 2.081%.

Bitcoin picked up 2.6% to $38,828.41.