U.S. Stocks Climb as Tech Sector Bounces Back

Technology stocks in the S&P 500 posted their biggest gain of the year Monday, leading the broader index to a fresh high.

The gains followed a three session slump for the sector, which is up 19% this year and the best-performing group in the index.

Apple was the biggest gainer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday, after falling in six of the past seven sessions. Some analysts said investors were eager to snap up shares after several days of declines.

"Now you're buying Apple at a discount," said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners.

The Dow industrials added 144.71 points, or 0.7%, to 21528.99 -- its biggest percentage gain in a month -- and the S&P 500 added 20.31 points, or 0.8%, to 2453.46, its biggest gain since April 24. Both indexes closed at records.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 87.25 points, or 1.4%, to 6239.01, in its biggest one-day surge since Nov. 7.

Apple climbed $4.07, or 2.9%, to $146.34, adding about 28 points to the Dow industrials. Shares of tech companies in the S&P 500 rose 1.7%, the sector's biggest one-day advance since December, but the group is still down 0.5% in June.

The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index jumped 2.5%. Clovis Oncology shares surged $27.91, or 47%, to $87.88 on Monday, the biggest positive jump in four years, after the company reported positive clinical trial data for its cancer drug Rubraca.

U.S. government bonds weakened, with the yield on the two-year Treasury note settling at its highest closing level since March, after Federal Reserve Bank of New York president William Dudley signaled a willingness to gradually increase interest rates as a way to support economic growth. He also expressed optimism about the economy and the path of inflation.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.188% from 2.157% Friday. Yields rise as prices fall.

Mr. Dudley's comments offered some reassurance to those "worried that the Fed is looking to raise rates quickly, or too quickly," said Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at TIAA Investments, an affiliate of Nuveen.

These comments, along with the results from France's election, may have cheered stock investors, Mr. Nick said.

European stocks gained ground after France gave President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party an outright majority in the country's parliament. The victory of the president's political party gives him a stronger mandate to implement his policies in the eurozone's second largest economy, while offering a further sign of the receding tide of populist European politics that concerned investors, analysts say.

"There is a new political wind blowing through Europe," said Vincent Juvyns, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "Macron can now more or less freely implement his program, he won't have to compromise as much as he did when he was economy minister."

France's CAC 40 index gained 0.9%. The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.9%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6%, with a softer yen aiding a move back above 20000 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.2%, and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7%.

This week, investors are preparing for the start of formal Brexit negotiations and a decision on whether to include China's domestically traded A-shares in a benchmark emerging-market index that is widely followed.

--Ese Erheriene contributed to this article.

Write to Gunjan Banerji at Gunjan.Banerji@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2017 18:14 ET (22:14 GMT)