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Stocks closed sharply higher on Monday, led by strong gains in the tech sector, as Wall Street built on the momentum from last week’s solid performance and shook off a continued rise in coronavirus cases.
The Dow Jones Industrials screamed higher 459.67 points, or 1.8%, to close Monday at 26,212.14.
The S&P 500 gained 49.71 points, or 1.6%, to 3,179.72.
The NASDAQ Composite popped 226.02 points, or 2.2%, to 10,433.65, yet another new record high.
The biggest technology companies led the gains with Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet all climbing at least 2%. Amazon shares also broke above $3,000 for the first time. Netflix shares reach an all-time high as well.
The NASDAQ-100 — which is made up of the composite’s 100-largest non-financial stocks — jumped 2.5% on Monday, bringing its 2020 gains to more than 21%.
Deal making also boosted sentiment. Warren Buffett made his first major deal amid the market turmoil this year, with Berkshire Hathaway buying the natural gas transmission and storage assets from Dominion Energy for about $10 billion including debt.
Dominion Energy fell 11%, while Berkshire shares gained 2.4%. Uber shares gained 6% after it said it was buying food-delivery app Postmates in an all-stock deal worth $2.65 billion.
Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed a surprise expansion in the U.S. services sector. The firm’s non-manufacturing index rose to 57.1 in June, topping a Dow Jones estimate of 50.1.
The World Health Organization said Saturday that more than 200,000 coronavirus cases were confirmed over a 24-hour span, a record. At a regional level, the biggest spike was seen in the Americas, where nearly 130,000 new cases were confirmed.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were slightly off, raising yields to 0.68% from Thursday’s 0.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped three cents to $40.62 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices added $5.10 to $1,795.10 U.S. an ounce.
