U.S. Stocks Close Sharply Higher After Last Week's Sell-Off

(RTTNews) - Stocks showed a significant move to the upside during trading on Monday, regaining some ground after moving notably lower last week. The major averages all moved sharply higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a standout gain.

The major averages all closed firmly in positive territory. The Dow jumped 327.69 points or 1.2 percent to 27,993.33, the Nasdaq soared 203.11 points or 1.9 percent to 11,056.65 and the S&P 500 surged up 42.57 points or 1.3 percent to 3,383.54.

The rally on Wall Street partly reflected a rebound by technology stocks, which recovered after leading the markets lower last week.

The significant advance by the Nasdaq comes after the tech-heavy index plunged by 4.1 percent last week in its worst week since March.

Apple (AAPL) has been a key driver of the markets in recent sessions and advanced by 3 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in a month.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) also saw considerable strength after the graphics chip maker announced a $40 billion acquisition of chip designer Arm Holdings.

Oracle (ORCL) is also posting a standout gain amid reports the business software giant has edged out rival Microsoft (MSFT) in negotiations for the U.S. operations of TikTok.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to news that AstraZeneca (AZN) has resumed a late-stage clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine.

Sector News

Gold stocks moved sharply higher on the day, resulting in a 4.3 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

The rally by gold stocks came amid a significant increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for December delivery jumping $15.80 to $1,963.70 an ounce.

Substantial strength was also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 4 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.

Shares of Immunomedics (IMMU) soared after the cancer drug maker agreed to be acquired by Gilead Sciences (GILD) is a deal valued at $21 billion.

Airline stocks also showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 3.1 percent.

Commercial real estate, semiconductor, natural gas and computer hardware stocks also saw notable strength amid broad based buying interest.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both edged down by 0.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction before ending the session nearly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 0.664 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to reports on New York manufacturing activity, import and export prices and industrial production.