The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index proved its ability to rebound on Monday, closing up by some 354 points to hit 24,640 on the back of gains from financial stocks.
Leading the Dow higher were American Express which ended the day 3.7% higher at $109.68 as well as Goldman Sachs which closed up nearly 3% to hit $194.34 and JP Morgan Chase which finished up by 2.4% at $109.26.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq also pushed higher, finishing up 143 points to hit 7,081 as big tech stocks such as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google’s parent company Alphabet staged a comeback from last week’s losses.
The excitement of Cyber Monday also boosted market sentiment and pushed up shares of online retailers, with the online retailing behemoth Amazon.com recording a 5.28% jump to reach $1,581.33 and the S&P Retail Index finishing the day up by more than 2%.
General Motors also closed up 4.9% to hit $37.65 after the car company said it would put an end to production at five plants in the US and Canada, slash its work force by 15% and discontinue the production of several vehicles.
The S&P 500 also climbed, adding 40.9 points to reach 2,673 while the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks jumped by 18 points to 1,506.
Also weighing on the markets was the fact that investors are preparing for a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday at which the tea leaves will be parsed for further indications of monetary tightening.
12:35 PM: US benchmarks on the rise this afternoon as tech stocks recover
US stocks were climbing higher this afternoon, boosted by a tech stock recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 250 points with the financial sector on the rise.
American Express Co (NYSE:AXP), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) were some of the top gainers.
The S&P 500 was up around 26 points by midday.
Campbell Soup Co (NYSE:CPB) was a top decliner after reaching a deal with activist fund Third Point to add two of the fund’s members to its board.
The Nasdaq jumped around 85 points in afternoon trading.
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) was one of the top performers on the tech-heavy index as Black Friday ends and Cyber Monday begins.
The Russell 2000 was up nearly 1% this afternoon.
Ampio Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSE:AMPE) was one of the best-performing stocks on the small-cap index after announcing that it expects final guidance from the FDA in mid-December regarding the clinical studies of Ampion, its treatment for knee osteoarthritis.
Up north, the TSX was up around 22 points due to a boost in tech and energy shares.
10:00 AM: Dow climbs by more than 300 points as tech stocks rebound and retail stocks jump
US stocks popped at the open on Monday as shares of retailers rose on the back of robust Black Friday sales and tech stocks also staged a comeback.
Early in the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index added 317 points to hit 24,602, pushed up by gains from American Express, Goldman Sachs Group, Caterpillar Inc, DowDuPont and International Business Machines Corp.
The tech-laden Nasdaq climbed 91 points to 7,030, lifted by JD.com, Vodafone Group PLC, Wynn Resorts, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc and Nvidia. The S&P 500 tech sector boosted the Nasdaq and was up by 1.4%, as shares of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google’s parent company Alphabet all jumped by more than 1%.
The rebound on Wall Street came on the heels of stocks enduring their most dismal Thanksgiving week in seven years as oil prices put pressure on energy stocks and tech stocks took a tumble.
Trading higher were shares in the big retailers such as Target, which jumped 2% and JC Penney, which was up 1.9%, as shoppers flocked to stores for post-Thanksgiving sales.
The S&P 500 was also trading 1.2% higher at 2,663 while the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks nudged up by 12.8 points to nearly 1,502.
Oil prices also climbed, with Brent Crude Oil, the international benchmark, touching $60 a barrel after losing considerable ground on Friday due to concerns about oversupply and a slowdown in demand.
Market sentiment was also lifted by hopes for better trade relations between the US and China as President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are set to talk at the G20 summit meeting in Argentina.
Up in Canada, Toronto’s TSX index also rose by 98 points to hit 15,109 as energy stocks rose on the back of the jump in oil prices.
7:19 AM: US shares seen starting higher on Cyber Monday, while European indices also head north
US stocks are seen starting the day higher after falling Friday on what is dubbed 'Cyber Monday' due to the volume of online retail sales.
Today is expected to be the largest online shopping day ever - generating $7.8 billion in sales - up 17% from the previous year, according to one digital survey.
But the problem for companies offering so many incentives and steep discounts is what it will do to their net profit.
Over in Europe, the weekend saw a Brexit breakthrough, in as much as the EU have signed off UK Prime Minister Theresa May's draft withdrawal agreement, but there are many voices of dissent, and now the PM must get it through Parliament if it is to go any further.
The first independent analysis of the government’s Brexit plan finds UK would be £100 billion poorer each year https://t.co/HVcHhGfv9o
— The New European (@TheNewEuropean) 26 November 2018
On Black Friday last week, Wall Street shares closed lower in what was a truncated post-Thanksgiving Day session, which was dragged down by energy companies, with Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX ) top laggard on the Dow as crude took a hit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished around 178 points lower at 24,285, while the Nasdaq lost around 33 points at 6,938.
The broader-based S&P 500 closed down around 17 points at 2,632.
In futures trade today, the Dow Jones is up 260 points, while the Nasdaq has bounced back - up over 109 points but the S&P 500 futures are up 31 at the time of writing.
European shares are higher. In London, FTSE 100 is up over 60 at 7,013, while the DAX is up over 133 points and the CAC 40 is ahead by over 49 points at 4,996.
Analyst Connor Campbell at Spreadex said of the Wall Street open: "... the Dow Jones is set to join in with the European rally, with the index looking at a 250 point-plus surge after the bell.
"Yet though that’d lift the Dow back above 24,500, it still leaves it around 1,000 points adrift of where it started last week."
In Asia overnight, shares were mixed but generally higher, the Nikkei 225 gained 165 points at 21,812, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 3.67 at 2,575.