Dow jumps 600 points led by tech, financials on economic recovery optimism

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	49504.07	+237.96	+0.48%
SP500	S&P 500	6966.28	+44.82	+0.65%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	23671.346424	+191.33	+0.81%

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	55.73	-0.17	-0.30%
QQQ	INVESCO QQQ TRUST - USD DIS	626.70	+6.22	+1.00%

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	204.39	-1.36	-0.66%
DAL	DELTA AIR LINES INC.	72.29	+1.01	+1.42%
RCL	ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP	311.50	+7.17	+2.36%
MAR	MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC.	328.18	+3.27	+1.01%

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.	21.23	-0.19	-0.89%
AMC	AMC ENTERTAINMENT HOLDINGS INC	1.64	+0.18	+12.37%
KOSS	KOSS	4.37	+0.06	+1.39%

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.	234.53	+7.15	+3.14%
UAL	UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC.	117.32	+1.85	+1.60%

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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.	35.17	-0.81	-2.25%

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%.