WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Monday, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. With the upward move, the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the session at a new record closing high.
The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the day at their highs of the session. The Dow soared 461.46 points or 1.7 percent to 27,572.44, the Nasdaq jumped 110.66 points or 1.1 percent to 9,924.74 and the S&P 500 surged up 38.46 points or 1.2 percent to 3,232.39.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders remain optimistic about a quick economic recovery as businesses begin to reopen following the coronavirus lockdown.
Recent economic data has added to investor optimism even as economists warn that the recovery will be more gradual than many expect.
Last Friday, the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report seemed to prove traders were right to be optimistic about a quick economic recovery.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 2.51 million jobs in May after plummeting by a revised 20.69 million jobs in April.
The record spike in employment came as a shock to economists, who had expected the loss of another 8.0 million jobs following the nosedive of 20.5 million jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Employment rose sharply in leisure and hospitality, construction, education and health services, and retail trade, according to the Labor Department.
The Labor Department claimed the improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain the spread of the disease.
Energy stocks helped to lead the way higher once again even though the price of crude pulled back sharply following recent strength.
The Philadelphia Oil Service Index skyrocketed by 12.1 percent, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index spiked by 8.1 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index surged up by 4.1 percent.
Substantial strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 3.5 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.
Banking, commercial real estate and computer hardware stocks also saw considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on the day. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets saw modest weakness following recent strength. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both edged down by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries regained ground after moving sharply lower over the past few sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 2 basis points to 0.884 percent.
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