Markets Begin Week with Gains Amid Reopening Enthusiasm…..
U.S. equities finished nicely higher amid increasing optimism surrounding the reopening of the U.S. economy, albeit slow. The continued pressure on crude oil prices wasn’t able to redirect the bulls, nor another dismal read on regional manufacturing activity, while a busy week is ahead on the earnings front, particularly from the tech sector, and the Fed and European Central Bank will deliver monetary policy decisions. Treasury yields were higher as bond prices declined, while the U.S. dollar and gold lost ground. In equity news, Boeing terminated its joint venture with Embraer, General Motors announced measures to fortify its balance sheet and Check Point Software rose on its quarterly results. Markets in Europe and Asia finished higher amid the upbeat optimism.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 359 points (1.5%) to 24,134, the S&P 500 Index increased 42 points (1.5%) to 2,878 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 96 points (1.1%) to 8,730. In moderately heavy volume, 970 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 3.6 billion shares changed hands on the NASDAQ. WTI crude oil tumbled $4.16 to $12.78 per barrel and wholesale gasoline lost $0.02 to $0.68 per gallon. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price was $12.85 lower at $1,717.29 per ounce, while the Dollar Index—a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies—declined 0.4% to 100.03.
Treasuries were lower, as the yield on the 2-year note was flat at 0.22%, while the yields on the 10-year note and the 30-year bond gained 7 basis points (bps) to 0.66% and 1.26%, respectively.
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