Stocks Close Sharply Higher As Traders Go Bargain Hunting - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a strong move to the upside during trading on Monday, regaining ground following the sell-off seen last week. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session but remained firmly in positive territory.

Going into the close of the trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new highs for the session. The Dow surged up 354.29 points or 1.5 percent to 24,640.24, the Nasdaq soared 142.87 points or 2.1 percent to 7,081.85 and the S&P 500 jumped 40.89 points or 1.6 percent to 2,673.45.

The rebound on Wall Street came as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels on the heels of the recent weakness.

The drop seen during last Friday's holiday-shortened session dragged the Dow and the S&P 500 to their lowest closing levels in four and six months, respectively.

A sharp drop in crude oil prices has weighed on the markets recently along with concerns about the global economic outlook.

Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with traders looking ahead to a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week.

Trump and Xi are due to meet at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, beginning on Friday, with traders likely to keep a close on eye out for signs of progress on a potential trade deal.

A lack of economic data also kept some traders on the sidelines, although reports on consumer confidence, new home sales, and personal income and spending are likely to attract attention in the coming days.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as well as the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting.

Sector News

Software stocks showed a significant move to the upside on the day, driving the Dow Jones Software Index up by 2.7 percent. The index continued to recover after hitting a nearly five-month closing low last Tuesday.

Considerable strength was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by the KBW Bank Index.

Retail stocks also turned in a strong performance amid positive reports about Black Friday sales, with the Dow Jones Retail Index surging up by 2.3 percent.

Computer hardware, biotechnology, and semiconductor stocks also saw considerable strength, while notable weakness emerged among tobacco and steel stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index spiked by 1.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged up by 1.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries saw modest weakness amid the rebound on Wall Street. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 1.8 basis points to 3.072 percent.

Looking Ahead

Economic data may attract attention on Tuesday, with traders likely to keep an eye on reports on home prices and consumer confidence.