Stocks continued to rise on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both reaching new closing highs to add to last week's record levels. The Dow Jones also closed above 28,000 for the first time since February, inching closer to breaking form its coronavirus pandemic-induced bear market. Investor sentiment was encouraged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma as a COVID-19 treatment for hospitalized patients, as well as more positive near-term vaccine developments.
Here's how the market settled to start the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +1.01% or +34.21 points to 3,431.37
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +1.36% or +378.54 points to 28,308.87
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.60% or +67.92 points to 11,379.72
For Major Stock News, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares rose 1.2% to a new all-time high for the tech giant. Reopening trades--American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL), Carnival Cruises (NYSE: CCL), Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL), Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS), Norwegian Cruise (NYSE: NCLH), Royal Caribbean Cruise (NYSE: RCL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) and Wynn Resorts (NYSE: WYNN)--all advanced due to increased market optimism towards the potential shortening of the coronavirus pandemic's timeline.
For Sector Performance, all industries, expect Health Care which declined -0.54%, gained as investors were encouraged by positive coronavirus news. The performance gains were as follows: Energy +2.75%, Financials +2.32%, Industrials +1.79%, Materials +1.72%, Consumer Discretionary +1.30%, Communication Services +1.06%, Utilities +0.93%, Information Technology +0.87%, Consumer Staples +0.84% and Real Estate +0.24%.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) rose higher on Monday as market participants prepare for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's upcoming speech on the central banks' policy framework. The dollar index increased 0.12% against other global currencies. In response to a stronger dollar and positive vaccine news, Gold (NYSE: GLD) prices fell as investors moved money towards "riskier" bets. Spot gold declined 0.5% to cost $1,929.12 per ounce, while futures settled down 0.4% at $1,939.20 per ounce. Crude Oil prices gained on Monday, despite two storms threatening the Gulf Coast, causing a shutdown to oil operations in the region. International benchmark Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) climbed 1.76% to $45.13 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) increased 0.66% to settle at $42.62 per barrel.
"Due to the moribund demand fro gasoline and diesel fuels these days, due to the pandemic, it is hard to get a rally going off this remarkable dual-storm threat, which itself is remarkable," Again Capital's John Kilduff told CNBC.
For Tuesday, market participants will turn their attention to fresh consumer confidence and new homes sales data.