Stocks rose broadly on Wall Street after taking big losses last week and more in Monday’s Stock Market Update. Technology companies recovered some of their recent losses on Monday. Microsoft climbed 3.3 percent.
Retailers and travel companies also climbed on the first full trading day of the holiday shopping season. Amazon jumped 5.3 percent. General Motors surged 4.8 percent after saying it will lay off 14,000 workers in North America as it refocuses on autonomous and electric vehicles.
Banks rose as interest rates turned higher. Citigroup jumped 3.2 percent.
STOCK MARKET UPDATE
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index climbed 40 points, or 1.6 percent, to 2,673 at closing time. On Friday the S&P 500 closed 10.2 percent beneath the record high it had set in late September. That’s the second time this year the index has dropped 10 percent from a recent peak, a mark known on Wall Street as a “correction.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 354 points, or 1.5 percent, to 24,640.
The Nasdaq composite rose 142 points, or 2.1 percent, to 7,081. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 18 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,506. The Nasdaq and Russell have both entered corrections since setting record highs in late August.
TRADE TALKS: U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to discuss their trade dispute in Buenos Aires at the end of this week. Stocks have skidded recently as investors have grown pessimistic that the two countries will resolve their differences over technology policy and other issues.
“A fair amount of trade escalation between the U.S. and China is being priced in by the market,” said Justin Waring, a strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management’s Chief Investment Office. “Any kind of statement that there will be a formal trade negotiation round following that meeting would be viewed as positive.”
The U.S. is scheduled to raise import taxes on $200 billion in Chinese imports on Jan. 1, and Waring said investors will probably be happy if the countries say they will hold off on any further increases while they talk.
TECH AND RETAIL RALLY: Among retailers, Amazon rallied 4.7 percent to $1,572 and Nike rose 1.8 percent to $72.77. Companies in travel and leisure also surged. Booking Holdings, parent company of Priceline, gained 2.6 percent to $1,810 and MGM Resorts rose 5.1 percent to $27.13.
Adobe Analytics reported that shoppers spent about $10 billion online Thursday and Friday.
“The U.S. consumer contributes about 70 percent of gross domestic product, and the holiday season is always a big chunk of that spending,” said Waring. “The competition is definitely breeding some more interesting sales tactics.”
Technology companies and retailers have been hit hard during the market’s recent slide, and they made some of the largest gains Monday. Microsoft added 3.3 percent to $106.47 and Cisco Systems gained 2.3 percent to $45.56.
PUMP THE BRAKES: General Motors will lay off 14,000 factory and white-collar workers in North America and could close five plants. The company said it will focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles, and also wants to prepare for a future economic downturn while conditions are still good. The stock jumped 5.8 percent to $38.02.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 2.4 percent to $51.63 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 2.9 percent to $60.48 a barrel in London.
Crude prices have dropped by about one-third since early October as investors reacted to rising global fuel stockpiles and concerns about slowing economic growth. Representatives of OPEC and other major oil producers will meet in Vienna in early December to discuss a possible cut in production.
BREXIT DEAL: The European Union and Britain sealed an agreement governing the country’s departure from the bloc on March 29. The deal leaves Britain subject to rules of the bloc at least until the end of 2020. It’s not clear if British Prime Minister Theresa May will be able to convince Parliament to approve the deal, as both pro-Brexit and pro-EU camps have both criticized the proposal.
OVERSEAS STOCK MARKET UPDATE: Germany’s DAX index rose 1.4 percent. France’s CAC 40 rose 1 percent and the British FTSE 100 added 1.2 percent.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225, reopening after a holiday, added 0.8 percent and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.2 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rebounded 1.7 percent.
BONDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.07 percent from 3.05 percent. That sent interest rates higher, which helped banks. JPMorgan Chase jumped 2.3 percent to $109.09 and Bank of America climbed 1.9 percent to $27.48.
OTHER COMMODITIES: Wholesale gasoline rose 3.7 percent to $1.44 a gallon. Heating oil added 0.9 percent to $1.89 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1.4 percent to $4.25 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold dipped 0.1 percent to $1,222.40 an ounce. Silver lost 0.3 percent to $14.21 an ounce and copper fell 0.1 percent to $2.76 a pound.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 113.63 yen from 112.88 yen late Friday. The euro edged down to $1.1329 from $1.1330.
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