WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. stocks ended on a positive note on Monday thanks to some strong buying in the final hour as hopes about a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine helped offset concerns about inflation and imminent monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve.
The major averages all ended higher, with the tech-laden Nasdaq outperforming with a sharp uptick. The Dow, which slipped to 34,552.23 around noon, losing more than 300 points in the process, ended the session with a gain of 94.65 points or 0.27 percent at 34,955.89.
The S&P 500 settled with a gain of 32.46 points or 0.71 percent at 4,575.52, nearly 60 points off the session's low of 4,517.69. The Nasdaq, which saw a brief spell in negative territory around noon, ended stronger by 185.60 points or 1.31 percent at 14,354.90.
Russia and Ukraine are set to resume diplomatic talks in Turkey on Tuesday. Russia has reportedly signaled that it may scale down its war and aims to concerntrate on eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine President Zelenskyy also said he wants to make a deal with Moscow over Sonbas and he is willing to discuss adopting a neutral status too.
Energy stocks drifted lower, tracking weak crude oil prices. Oil prices tumbled today amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand after Shanghai decided to impose fresh lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of the Covid-19 infections.
Tesla Inc. shares soared more than 8 percent following an announcement from the company that it would seek investor approval for a stock split.
Apple Inc shares drifted down in morning trades on reports the company is planning to cut iPhone and AirPod output amid a drop in demand due to high inflation. However, the stock recovered subsequently and eventually ended the day with a gain of about 0.5 percent.
Microsoft climbed more than 2 percent. Walmart, Salesforce.com, Visa, Home Depot, P&G and Nike also closed higher.
AMC Entertainment shares soared nearly 45 percent. The movie theater company's CEO Adam Aron said more 'transformational' M&A deals are on the way.
Chevron declined more than 2 percent. Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs, 3M, JP Morgan Chase, Intel and Boeing also closed weak, albeit with less pronounced losses.
In overseas trading, Asian shares turned in a mixed performance on Monday amid lingering worries surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
After a strong spell in positive territory, the major European markets pared gains towards the later part of the session on Monday as turned a bit cautious and chose to trim down positions at higher levels.
The early surge came amid hopes of a peace deal in the Ukraine crisis. Face-to-face talks between Ukraine and Russia are set to continue this week, with delegations from both countries traveling to Turkey today. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that discussions were likely to resume Tuesday.
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