Stocks rallied out of a huge early hole as investors weigh the economic outcome of a new spike on coronavirus cases in China and the U.S., plus more in today’s Closing Bell on Money & Markets.
The Top Story
The benchmark S&P 500 reversed course out of an early deficit in another day of rough trading Monday. The index fell as much as 2.5% and flirted with its 200-day moving average before rallying throughout the day.
The Dow Jones, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 also moved into positive territory. The Nasdaq was propped up by Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA), Nvidia Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA) and Zoom Video Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ZM).
It all came as China reinstated curbs after an unexpected spike in coronavirus cases and the U.S. reported a record number of new infections in more states over the weekend.
Investors still digested information from the Federal Reserve that suggested a dismal economic outlook for the near-term as Wall Street’s main indexes suffered their worst week since March last week.
The Dow Jones rose 0.6%. The S&P 500 moved 0.8% higher and the Nasdaq rose 1.4%. The Russell 2000 jumped almost 2%.
Stock Market Update: Closing Bell*
S&P 500: 3,066 (+0.83%)
DOW: 25,763 (+0.62%)
NASDAQ: 9,726 (+1.43%)
RUSSELL 2000: 1,415 (+1.97%)
VIX: 34.57 (-4.29%)
GOLD: $1,733.40 (-0.22%)
BITCOIN: $9,415.83 (+0.21%)
U.S. 10-YEAR YIELD: 0.71% (+0.016)
*- as of 4:14 p.m.
A Big Win
In this morning’s Opening Bell, we told you to be on the lookout for Moderna Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA) as the biotech company is reportedly close to selling its COVID-19 vaccine candidate to Israel. Shares of Moderna jumped 7.4% in afternoon trading.
We also mentioned Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTZ), which recently got approval to sell up to $1 billion in stock that could be worthless. The ruling came down from a bankruptcy judge and shares of Hertz dropped more than 33%.
Finally, we told you to watch iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) after the company said there was a stronger demand for its products in the second quarter. It reported potential quarterly sales of $70 million more than the first quarter. Shares of iRobot rose 9.6%.
Golden Nuggets
Gold prices fell Monday as the U.S. dollar hovered near its one-week high. Despite the fall, the precious metal held above $1,700 an ounce on increased fears of a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
Spot gold dropped 0.3% while gold futures were also down 0.23% at $1,733.30 per ounce. Gold has suffered as the Federal Reserve did not provide the gold market with additional stimulus and held rates firm.
The dollar eased against a basket of currencies, but still maintained a one-week high hit in Friday’s session.
Silver futures moved 0.2% higher to trade at $17.51 an ounce. Platinum jumped almost 1% to $827 an ounce while palladium rose 0.6% to $1,949.40 an ounce.
Cannabis Corner
A Florida medical cannabis operator is now trading on the Canadian exchange.
According to Marijuana Business Daily, Bluma Wellness, which operates as One Plant in Florida, started trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange on Monday under the ticker symbol BWEL.
Bluma is the result of a reverse takeover transaction with CannCure Investments — a portfolio company of Sol Global Investments.
Supreme Court Rules LGBT Status Not Grounds for Termination
In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal law protects gay and transgender workers from job discrimination.
Justice Neil Gorsuch and Chief Justice John Roberts joined the four liberal judges on the court in the majority opinion, according to Bloomberg.
The ruling extends the federal law against sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It could have a wider reach as half of the 8 million LGBT workers live in states that don’t cover sexual orientation and gender identity in their own anti-discrimination laws.
Today’s Big Winners:
S&P 500: ViacomCBS (Nasdaq: VIAC) +8.7%
Nasdaq: Zoom Video Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ZM) +8.9%
Dow: Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX) +2.6%
Today’s Big Losers:
S&P 500: Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (NYSE: COG) -3.3%
Nasdaq: United Airlines Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: UAL) -1.7%
Dow: Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) -3%
Check back for the most important news and numbers each day after the Closing Bell, only on Money & Markets.