Stocks Rise with Positive News on M&A and Vaccines Offering Boost….
U.S. stocks closed the day higher to kick off the week, following a two-week pullback from record high territory. A flurry of M&A activity and news on the COVID-19 vaccine/treatment front helped foster the rebound in equities. Nvidia agreed to acquire SoftBank’s chip division Arm Ltd valued at $40.0 billion, and Gilead Sciences struck a deal to acquire Immunomedics for about $21.0 billion, while Oracle confirmed a proposal to become the trusted technology provider to Chinese music-video app TikTok in the U.S. Treasury yields were higher, as bond prices were lower, with the economic calendar was void of any major releases today. The calendar is set to heat up as the week goes on, headlined by the Fed’s monetary policy decision. The U.S. dollar traded lower, along with crude oil prices, while gold gained ground. Asia closed mostly higher, and Europe finished the day mixed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 328 points (1.2%) to 27,993, the S&P 500 Index gained 43 points (1.3%) to 3,384, and the Nasdaq Composite increased 203 points (1.9%) to 11,057. In moderate volume, 860 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 3.7 billion shares changed hands on the NASDAQ. WTI crude oil lost $0.07 to $37.26 per barrel and wholesale gasoline was $0.02 higher at $1.11 per gallon. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price rose $17.65 to $1,958.20 per ounce, and the Dollar Index—a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies—ticked 0.3% lower to 93.03.
The stock markets are coming off heightened volatility after falling for two-straight weeks after the historic five-month surge that took the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to all-time highs.
Treasuries were slightly lower with the economic calendar void of any releases today, as the yields on the 2-year note, 10-year note and the 30-year bond rose 1 basis point to 0.14%, 0.67% and 1.42%, respectively.
©2020 Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Member SIPC.
Schwab Center for Financial Research (“SCFR”) is a division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. The information contained herein is obtained from third-party sources and believed to be reliable, but its accuracy or completeness is not guaranteed. This report is for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation, or a recommendation that any particular investor should purchase or sell any particular security. The investment information mentioned here may not be suitable for everyone. Each investor needs to review an investment strategy for his or her own particular situation before making any investment decision. All expressions of opinions are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.