Olympic photo highlights from Day 3 of the Milan Cortina Winter Games

MILAN (AP) — This gallery showcases top photos from Day 3 of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics taken by Associated Press photographers.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Germany's Anna Berreiter slides down the track during a women's single luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

China's Eileen Gu celebrates after her score during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Italy's Mattia Casse speeds down the course during an alpine ski men's downhill portion of a team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

United States' Korey Dropkin delivers a stone against Italy during a curling mixed doubles session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Kazakhstan's Elizaveta Golubeva warms up before the women's speedskating 1,000-meters final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Canada's Megan Oldham crashes during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud celebrates her gold medal win in the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Austria's Daniel Hemetsberger comes into the finish area of an alpine ski men's downhill portion of a team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

France's Maxence Muzaton speeds down the course of an alpine ski men's downhill portion of a team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Brittany Bowe of the U.S. practice ahead of the women's 1,500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Germany's Merle Malou Fraebel slides down the track during a women's single luge run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italy's goalkeeper Gabriella Durante fails to save the puck as Japan's Akane Shiga scores her side's second goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Japan and Italy at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Finland's Anni Karava competes during the women's freestyle skiing slopestyle finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Slovakia's Rebeka Jancova speeds down the course during an alpine ski women's downhill training for a team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Australia's Nicholas Timmings starts for a men's skeleton training session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting in mixed trading Monday, a downshift following bursts higher for stocks in Asia earlier in the day and Wall Street’s own rally to close last week.

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.

The relatively modest moves followed a 3.9% burst higher for Japan’s Nikkei 225 to a record. Stocks rallied there following a landslide victory for the prime minister’s political party in a parliamentary election. The thought is that will give Sanae Takaichi more power to push through reforms that will boost the economy and market.

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.

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.

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.

Kroger climbed 6.3% after the grocer named a former Walmart executive as its new chief executive officer.

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%.

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 move by the U.S Food and Drug Administration to restrict access to the ingredients needed to copy popular weight-loss medications.

Hims & Hers said, “Big Phama is weaponizing the US judicial system to limit consumer choice” in a post on the X account for the company's communications team.

Novo Nordisk’s stock that trades in the United States rose 3.3%.

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.

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.

Either report could sway expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates. The Fed has put its cuts to interest rates on hold, 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.

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.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.21% from 4.22% late Friday.

Other markets that had whipped through more violent moves over recent weeks were showing some more strength or stability.

Gold rose 2.3% to climb back above $5,000 per ounce. It’s 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.

Bitcoin dipped back toward $70,000 after climbing above $71,000 over the weekend. It had dropped close to $60,000 last week, more than halfway below its record set in October.

In stock markets abroad, indexes jumped across Asia with Japan’s surge. South Korea’s Kospi leaped 4.1%, while stocks rose 1.8% in Hong Kong and 1.4% in Shanghai.

The gains were more modest in Europe, where Germany's DAX returned 1.1% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.5%.

AP Videojournalist Mayuko Ono and AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Specialist Anthony Matesic works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A security guard stands guard at the gate of Tokyo Stock Exchange building, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)