Stocks Close Firmly Positive But Well Off Best Levels - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply higher in early trading on Monday, stocks gave back some ground as the day progressed but remained firmly in positive territory. The gains on the day partly offset the notable losses posted last week.

The major averages ended the day notably higher but well off their best levels. The Dow climbed 129.71 points or 0.7 percent to 17,804.87, the Nasdaq advanced 36.88 points or 0.8 percent to 4,837.21 and the S&P 500 rose 12.03 points or 0.6 percent to 2,083.25.

The early strength on Wall Street came amid easing concerns about Thursday's referendum on whether Britain will remain in the European Union.

Polls released over the weekend suggested that British voters narrowly support keeping the U.K. as a member of the EU.

The results of the latest polls reflected a turnaround from other surveys showing voters in favor of the so-called Brexit.

Bargain hunting also contributed to the upward move after last week's decline pulled the major averages down to their lowest levels in almost a month.

Buying interest waned shortly after the open, however, as the referendum on the Brexit still seems like it could go either way.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual testimony before Congress is also likely to attract attention in the coming days.

Traders are likely to keep a close eye on Yellen's remarks, looking for clues regarding the outlook for U.S. monetary policy.

The Fed decided to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting last week and seemed to offer a dovish assessment of the outlook for rates.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors moved to the upside, steel stocks posted particularly strong gains. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index surged up by 2.7 percent.

Schnitzer Steel (SCHN), Ryerson (RYI), and ArcelorMittal (MT) turned in some of the steel sector's best performances on the day.

Significant strength also emerged among oil stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index. The strength in the sector came as crude oil for July delivery jumped $1.39 to $49.37 a barrel.

Electronic storage, trucking, brokerage and airline stocks also saw considerable strength, while modest weakness was visible among utilities stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved to the upside during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 2.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.7 percent.

The major European markets also moved substantially higher on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index spiked by 3 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index soared by 3.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries pulled back further off their recent highs amid the rally on Wall Street. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 5.2 basis points to 1.670 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to Yellen's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee as well as remarks by Fed Governor Jerome Powell.