Bargain Hunting Leads To Rally On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Monday, regaining some ground following the weakness seen in recent sessions. Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, potentially exaggerating the upward move.

Gold stocks moved sharply higher on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 7 percent. With the gain, the index climbed further off the twelve-year closing low set last Wednesday.

The rally by gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery rising $10 to $1,104.10 an ounce.

Similarly, energy stocks moved higher along with the price of crude oil, as crude for September delivery jumped $1.09 to $44.96 a barrel.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index soared by 4.7 percent, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index surged up by 3/6 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Most of the other major sectors also moved notably higher on the day, with considerable strength visible among steel, electronic storage, telecom and semiconductor stocks.

The major averages moved roughly sideways going into the close, hovering firmly in positive territory. The Dow soared 241.79 points or 1.4 percent to 17,615.17, the Nasdaq jumped 58.25 points or 1.2 percent to 5,101.80 and the S&P 500 surged up 26.61 points or 1.3 percent to 2,104.18.