Saturday, 16 Nov 2024

Dow leads the way in broad Wall Street rally

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street surged on Monday, with the Dow set for its strongest session in over three months as investors piled back into energy and other sectors expected to outperform as the economy rebounds from the pandemic.

FILE PHOTO: People are seen on Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The Dow Jones Transports Average, considered a barometer of economic health, jumped 2.0%, while the domestically focused small-cap Russell 2000 added 2.1%.

The S&P 500 value index, which includes banks, energy and other economically sensitive sectors and has led gains in U.S. equities so far this year, rose 1.8%, outperforming the growth index’s 0.9% gain.

That was a stark reversal from last week, when the Fed’s hawkish signals on monetary policy sparked a round of profit taking that wiped out value stocks’ lead over growth this month and triggered the worst weekly performance for the Dow and the S&P 500 in months.

“It’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde market. Last week it was Mr. Hyde and today it’s Dr. Jekyll coming out,” said Jeff Carbone, co-founder of Cornerstone Financial Partners in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Today, there’s not a lot of fear out there, and that worries us more than anything else.”

All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, with energy soaring 4% and leading the way, followed by a 2.1% increase in the industrials index.

Microsoft Corp climbed 1.7% and hit an intra-day record high.

The S&P 500 has traded in a tight range this month as investors juggled fears of an overheating economy with optimism about a strong economic rebound.

(Graphic: Value vs Growth stocks, )

Focus this week will be on U.S. factory activity surveys and home sales data, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before Congress on Tuesday.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.75% at 33,871.11 points, while the S&P 500 gained 1.36% to 4,222.96.

The Nasdaq Composite added 0.8% to 14,143.26.

Cryptocurrency stocks including miners Riot Blockchain, Marathon Patent Group and crypto exchange Coinbase Global dropped between 2% and 4% on China’s expanding crackdown on bitcoin mining.

Moderna Inc gained 4.9% after a report said the drugmaker is adding two new production lines at a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing plant, in a bid to prepare for making more booster shots.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.95-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.46-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 62 new highs and 49 new lows.

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