U.S. markets were a little less ‘meh’ Monday as stocks rallied to near-record highs, and we also have gold and cannabis news, market winners, market losers and more in today’s Closing Bell on Money & Markets.

Led by a big jump in tech stocks, U.S. markets had a strong start to the week before Christmas as all three indexes were up.

The market gains were also anchored by more confidence in the announced U.S.-China trade deal from Friday.

By the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% while the S&P 500 jumped 0.7% and the Nasdaq rose 0.9%.

Money and Markets: Closing Bell

S&P 500: 3,191 (+22 points, +0.7%)
DOW: 28235 (+100 points, +0.3%)
NASDAQ: 8,814 (+79 points, +0.9%)
GOLD: $1,476.61 (+1.01, 0.07%)
BITCOIN: $6,872.42 (-3.4%)
U.S. 10-YEAR YIELD: 1.87%
*as of 4:21 p.m. EST

Golden Nuggets

Leagold Mining Corp. (TSX: LMC) will be acquired by Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSE: EQX) to create the largest North American gold mining company, according to Kitco News.

Equinox stock opened Monday up $0.08 but dropped back to close to its Friday close price.

The companies said the gold production of the merged companies will be 700,000 ounces in 2020 with a jump to 1 million ounces in 2021. The new company will have six mines in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil.

The deal will give Leagold shareholders 0.331 of an Equinox share for each Leagold share held. The new company will operate as Equinox Gold and be headquartered in Vancouver.

Cannabis Corner

In just a short amount of time, recreational marijuana sales in Michigan hit $1.6 million, according to the Detroit Free Press.

From Dec. 1-8, the state brought in $162,900 from the state’s 10% state excise tax and another $107,514 from the state’s sales tax. Recreational marijuana became legal in the state on Dec. 1.

Other economic news showed a boon for legal pot in Canada as The Cannabis Investor reported Canadians spent nearly $1 billion in legalized marijuana in the first year it was legal.

Ontario was responsible for $217 million in sales — the highest in Canada — while Alberta and Quebec had sales of $196 million and $195 million, respectively.

Stock Market Update

A big reason for today’s market rally was a jump in tech stocks.

The S&P 500 Info Tech Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE: XLK) a tech exchange-traded fund with $25.6 trillion in managed assets, jumped to trade at more than $90 a share Monday — a new 52-week high for the ETF.

Western Digital Corp. (Nasdaq: WDC) and Micron Technology (Nasdaq: MU) were among the tech stocks with the largest gains Monday.

TODAY’S BIGGEST WINNERS:

(as of 3:15 p.m. EST)

Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) +5.7%

Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) +3.4%

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) +2.2%

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) +4.5%

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) +3.9%

TODAY’S BIGGEST LOSERS:

(as of 3:15 p.m. EST)

International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (NYSE: IFF) –10.4%

Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) –3.7%

Hasbro Inc. (Nasdaq: HAS) –1.5%

Newell Brands Inc. (Nasdaq: NWL) –3.6%

Ulta Beauty Inc. (Nasdaq: ULTA) –1.8%

Check back for the most important news and numbers each day after the Closing Bell, only on Money and Markets. 

Tech stocks helped pace the market Monday with big gains. Make sure you check out our Top 5 tech stocks to buy in 2020 here.