Dow jumps 600 points led by tech, financials on economic recovery optimism
US House passes $1.9T COVID-19 relief package
U.S. equity markets rallied Monday as investors celebrated the approval of a third COVID-19 vaccine and as the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.9 trillion relief package. The combination fueled optimism on the economic recovery.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 39056.39 | +172.13 | +0.44% |
SP500 | S&P 500 | 5187.67 | -0.03 | -0.00% |
I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 16302.755815 | -29.80 | -0.18% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 603 points, or 1.95%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.38% and 3.01%, respectively.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
XLF | FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF | 41.36 | +0.15 | +0.36% |
QQQ | INVESCO QQQ NASDAQ 100 | 440.06 | -0.26 | -0.06% |
Technology and financial stocks led the broad gains in U.S. equities.
The gains came as the 10-year yield slipped 1.5 basis points to 1.44%. The benchmark yield last week touched a one-year high of 1.61%, causing jitters among stock-market investors as it topped the S&P 500's dividend yield.
President Biden’s COVID-19 relief package cleared the House in a 219 to 212 vote, mostly along party lines, that saw two Democrats vote against the measure.
The bill, which gives $1,400 checks to most Americans and extends unemployment benefits among other things, has been criticized by Republicans as a “blue state bailout” with only 9% of the money going towards pandemic relief.
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In stocks, Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine received emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is expected to begin shipping 4 million doses immediately.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
JNJ | JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 148.95 | +0.27 | +0.18% |
DAL | DELTA AIR LINES INC. | 52.28 | +0.08 | +0.15% |
RCL | ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP | 141.68 | +0.09 | +0.06% |
MAR | MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC. | 235.35 | -0.64 | -0.27% |
News of another vaccine boosted airlines, cruise ship operators and other companies that have been hit hard by restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Elsewhere, GameStop Corp. and other heavily shorted stocks, including AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Koss Corp. continued to squeeze higher.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
GME | GAMESTOP CORP. | 15.90 | -0.40 | -2.45% |
AMC | AMC ENTERTAINMENT | 3.19 | +0.01 | +0.31% |
KOSS | KOSS | 3.32 | -0.02 | -0.60% |
ExxonMobil Corp. shares spiked after CNBC reported activist investor Jeff Ubben will join the company's board of directors.
Boeing tacked on over 5% on word that United Airlines is buying 25 737 Max Jets.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
BA | THE BOEING CO. | 180.35 | +3.64 | +2.06% |
UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 53.02 | +0.33 | +0.63% |
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In earnings, Berkshire Hathaway reported operating income, Warren Buffett’s preferred performance measure, rose 14% from a year ago. The company, which bought back $25 billion of stock in 2020 plans to continue share repurchases in the current fiscal year.
Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
---|---|---|---|---|
DKNG | DRAFTKINGS INC. | 42.81 | -0.49 | -1.13% |
DraftKings Inc. received multiple upgrades and price target hikes after the sports-betting platform last week raised its outlook for the current fiscal year.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil ticked lost 86 cents to $60.64 per barrel and gold slipped $5.60 to $1,722.50 an ounce.
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Global markets were higher across the board.
Germany's DAX 30 paced the advance in Europe, trading up 1.64%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 climbed 1.62% and 1.57%, respectively.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.41%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 1.63% and China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 1.21%.