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 38486.21 +246.23 +0.64%
SP500 S&P 500 5069.57 +58.97 +1.18%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 15690.412182 +239.11 +1.55%

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 41.16 +0.28 +0.68%
QQQ INVESCO QQQ NASDAQ 100 418.82 +4.17 +1.01%

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 149.12 +1.21 +0.82%
DAL DELTA AIR LINES INC. 49.02 +1.45 +3.05%
RCL ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP 131.99 +2.78 +2.15%
MAR MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL INC. 237.41 +1.41 +0.60%

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. 10.01 -0.41 -3.93%
AMC AMC ENTERTAINMENT 3.42 +0.26 +8.23%
KOSS KOSS 2.39 +0.07 +2.83%

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. 170.48 +0.66 +0.39%
UAL UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. 53.94 +2.56 +4.98%

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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. 41.35 +0.81 +1.99%

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%.