WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last week. With the upward move, the Dow and the S&P 500 have reached new record intraday highs.
Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Dow is up 404.73 points or 0.9 percent at 44,701.25, the Nasdaq is up 86.12 points or 0.5 percent at 19,089.77 and the S&P 500 is up 22.56 points or 0.4 percent at 5,991.90.
The continued strength on Wall Street comes amid a positive reaction to news President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary.
Bessent is seen as supportive of the equity markets and an advocate for deficit reduction. He has also called for Trump's planned tariff increases to be implemented gradually, which could reduce the impact on inflation.
'Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is perceived as being a relatively conventional and safe pair of hands candidate,' said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. 'Importantly, Bessent is seen as being less aggressive on tariffs than some of the rhetoric espoused by Trump on the campaign trail.'
He added, 'A fall in bond yields in response to his unveiling suggests some of the concern about a new wave of inflationary pressures from import tariffs has eased and that Bessent might be able to do something to bring the U.S. deficit under control.'
However, traders seem reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of several key economic reports in the coming days.
A report on personal income and spending the month of October is likely to be in the spotlight, as it includes the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation readings.
Reports on consumer confidence, new home sales and durable goods orders are also likely to attract attention along with the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting.
Sector News
Housing stocks have moved sharply higher amid a steep drop by treasury yields, resulting in a 4.9 percent spike by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.
Substantial strength is also visible among computer hardware stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index soaring by 4.2 percent to a four-month intraday high.
Airline stocks have also shown a significant move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 3.1 percent.
Biotechnology, commercial real estate and networking stocks are also seeing notable strength, while gold stocks have plunged along with the price of the precious metal.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index edged down by 0.1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved sharply higher in reaction to Trump's Treasury Secretary pick. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 12.1 basis points at 4.289 percent.
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