S&P 500 set for best day in nine months on vaccine, stimulus cheer
Reuters
Published Mar 01, 2021 06:35AM ET
Updated Mar 01, 2021 12:00PM ET
By Medha Singh and Shashank Nayar
(Reuters) - The S&P 500 on Monday was headed for its best day since June 5 as bond markets calmed after a month-long selloff, while encouraging updates on COVID-19 vaccines and fiscal stimulus bolstered bets over a swift economic recovery.
The Dow was on pace for its best daily gain in nearly four months, while the Nasdaq was set for its best daily percentage gain in a month.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) rose 1.8% as it began shipping its single-dose vaccine after it became the third authorized COVID-19 vaccine in the United States over the weekend.
President Joe Biden scored his first legislative win as the House of Representatives passed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package early Saturday. The bill now moves to the Senate.
U.S. bond yields eased on Monday after a swift rise last month on expectations of accelerated inflation due to bets on an economic rebound. The U.S. 10-year treasury yield eased to 1.419% after hitting a one-year high of 1.614%.
"The sentiment is risk on with more investors showing interest towards cyclical stocks while a positive vaccination drive and better macro numbers are hinting towards a better growth environment," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at GLOBALT in Atlanta.
Latest data showed U.S. manufacturing activity increased to a three-year high in February amid an acceleration in new orders.
All major S&P sectors were higher with those that stand to benefit more from an economic rebound outperforming. Financials, energy, industrials and materials gained between 2.6% and 3%.
Wall Street's main indexes ended lower last week, with the Nasdaq suffering its worst week in four months, as a rise in long-dormant yields signaled bonds are more serious investment competition, sparking a pullback in high-valuation tech stocks.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) rebounded between 1% and 3.9% on Monday.
At 11:25 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 685.37 points, or 2.22%, to 31,617.74, the S&P 500 gained 86.63 points, or 2.27%, to 3,897.78 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 318.06 points, or 2.41%, to 13,510.41.
Shares of cruise liner and carriers including Carnival (NYSE:CUK) Corp, Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) and American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) gained between 1.9% and 4.4%.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co jumped 5.9% as United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ:UAL) Inc ordered 25 new 737 MAX aircraft and moved up the delivery of others as it prepares to replace aging jets and meet expected post-pandemic growth in demand.
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Warren Buffett's enthusiasm for the future of America and his company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc has not been dimmed by the coronavirus pandemic, according to his annual letter to investors. Berkshire's shares rose 2.3%.
Perrigo Co (NYSE:PRGO) Plc jumped about 7% as the consumer healthcare products company said it would sell its underperforming generic drugs business for $1.55 billion.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 5.8-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 5.6-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 38 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 172 new highs and 45 new lows.
Written By: Reuters
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