U.S. stocks rose broadly on Monday, as investors cheered an easing of U.S.-China trade tensions, which could point to a removal of one of the market’s biggest uncertainties and headwinds.
What are markets doing?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.40% rose 345 points, or 1.4%, to 24,977, on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain since April 10, as well as its highest close since March 12. All 30 Dow components were higher in early trading.
The S&P 500 SPX, +0.81% rose 22 points to 2,735, a gain of 0.8%. All 11 primary S&P 500 sectors were higher, with industrials — the sector with some of the highest correlation to trade issues — up 1.4%. The benchmark index was on track for its highest close since March.
The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.62% rose 69 points, or 0.9%, to 7,423. The index was supported by a rally in technology stocks, which rose 1.2% on the day.
The small-cap benchmark Russell 2000 index RUT, +0.70% rose 0.6% and hit its latest in a series of records.
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Read: The strong dollar is a stock-market drag and poses a threat to earnings growth
What’s driving the market?
The mood was upbeat after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said over the weekend that the Trump administration would delay implementing tariffs on Chinese goods and “put the trade war on hold” while working out details of a deal between the countries.
Hours later, a conflicting statement was released by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who said Washington may still resort to tariffs. However, Mnuchin insisted that the White House is unified after agreeing over the weekend not to impose tariffs on China.
At the end of trade negotiations this weekend, China agreed to buy larger amounts of U.S. goods to help narrow the trade deficit between the two economies, but did not agree to the specific U.S. target of $200 billion.
Read: ‘Sense of relief in equity markets is palpable’ — analysts assess U.S.-China trade truce
Worries over the trade talks and higher bond yields contributed to the sluggishness in Friday’s session. Last week, the 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.51% logged its biggest climb since April 20. The yield was hovering around 3.07% on Monday, after touching a seven-year intraday high of 3.126% on Friday. Higher yields can make stocks less attractive to investors.
What are strategists saying?
“This is by no means the end of the matter, especially given the huge gap that remains between the two sides, as highlighted by the lack of any real detail in the announcement. However, this was the encouraging start to talks that traders were after,” said Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, in a note, in reference to the U.S.-China trade talks.
Check out: ‘Sense of relief in equity markets is palpable’ — analysts on U.S.-China trade truce
What’s on the economic calendar?
The Chicago Federal Reserve’s national activity index came in at 0.34 in April, compared with 0.32 in March.
A bevy of Federal Reserve speakers kicks off with Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, who is due to make a speech on welfare economics to the Atlanta Economics Club at 12:15 p.m. Eastern.
Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is lined up for a discussion at a Chief Executives Organization event in New York City at 2:15 p.m. Eastern, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is slated to appear at Michigan’s Bay College at 5:30 p.m. Eastern.
What stocks are in focus?
Shares of MB Financial Inc. MBFI, +12.97% surged 14% after the Chicago-based regional bank agreed to be bought by Fifth Third Bancorp FITB, -8.05% in a deal valued at $4.7 billion. Fifth Third shares dropped 7.3%.
General Electric Co. GE, +3.24% rose 3.4% after it said the multinational conglomerate’s transportation unit will merge with railroad-equipment maker Wabtec Corp. WAB, +4.21% in a deal valued at $11.1 billion. Shares of Wabtec rose 5%.
Tesla Inc. shares TSLA, +4.17% added 4.5% after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk announced a new high-performance Model 3 priced at $78,000.
Read: Tesla needs to raise $10.5 billion in capital to keep going through 2020: Goldman Sachs
Hortonworks Inc. HDP, +2.58% rose 2.7% after an analyst upgraded the stock to buy, saying it was trading at a discount to peers on the basis of enterprise value to revenue.
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What are other markets doing?
Asian markets moved mostly higher, and European stocks SXXP, +0.34% were headed for nearly a 4-month high, though Italian stocks dented some of those gains owing to political worries.
Read: ‘Greek-like crisis’ fears hang over Italy’s markets as populists ready government
Gold futures GCM8, -0.25% slipped 0.5% to $1,284.90 an ounce, hitting a fresh 2018 low, while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.13% rose 0.2% to 93.859.
Oil futures CLM8, +0.83% added 0.4% to $71.58 a barrel, buoyed by fears the U.S. could impose new sanctions on Venezuela after weekend elections in the country that were viewed as illegitimate by the opposition and foreign governments.