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	49191.99	-398.21	-0.80%
SP500	S&P 500	6963.74	-13.53	-0.19%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	23709.87251	-24.03	-0.10%

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	54.25	-1.03	-1.86%
QQQ	INVESCO QQQ TRUST - USD DIS	626.24	-0.93	-0.15%

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	213.70	+3.97	+1.89%
DAL	DELTA AIR LINES INC.	69.34	-1.68	-2.37%
RCL	ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP	291.66	-9.42	-3.13%
MAR	MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC.	322.96	-0.39	-0.12%

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.	21.03	+0.05	+0.22%
AMC	AMC ENTERTAINMENT HOLDINGS INC	1.61	-0.12	-6.92%
KOSS	KOSS	4.32	-0.21	-4.64%

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.	244.40	+4.64	+1.94%
UAL	UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC.	114.41	-0.88	-0.76%

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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.	34.05	-0.91	-2.60%

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%.