Stocks shook off Friday's losses and rose throughout Monday's session as investors were encouraged by President Donald Trump's improving health following his COVID-19 diagnosis and more positive progress made towards passing new U.S. coronavirus fiscal stimulus.
White House physician Dr. Sean Conley confirmed on earlier tweet made by Trump that stated he would be discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. Conley stated during a press conference that Trump has been responding well to treatment, but his ultimate recovery still depends on additional care given after he returns to the White House.
Trump's team of doctors revealed over the weekend that he had been treated with a mix of Gilead Science's (NASDAQ: GILD) remdesivir, the steroid dexamethasone, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals's (NASDAQ: REGN) antibody cocktail; this combination of drugs has yet to be clinically tested but hints that Trump may be experiencing moderate to severe COVID-19 infection.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management's September services purchasing mangers' index rose above pre-pandemic levels to a reading of 57.8 for the month. This was up from August's reading of 56.9 and the index's February's reading of 57.3. The positive reading indicts recovery in the largest part of the U.S. economy.
Here's how the market settled to start the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +1.80% or +60.18 points to 3,408.62
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +1.68% or +465.83 points to 28,148.64
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +2.32% or +257.47 points to 11,332.49
For Major Stock News, Regal Cinemas parent Cineworld (OTC: CNNWF) announced that it will be suspending its U.S. and U.K. operations for the time being due to low consumer demand, impacting 45,000 employees. Rival AMC Entertainment's (NYSE: AMC) shares slumped following the announcement. Semiconductors (NYSE: SDX) rose following Nvidia's (NASDAQ: NVDA) announcement of coming data processing units and a supercomputer partnership with Arm. Mega-cap tech shares also rose with the broader market, lead by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL); Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).
For Sector Performance, every industry gained amid the renewed market optimism. The positive sector performance was as follows: Energy +2.90%, Information Technology +2.27%, Health Care +2.09%, Materials +1.92%, Industrials +1.63%, Communication Services +1.63%, Consumer Discretionary +1.60%, Financials +1.57%, Utilities +1.26%, Consumer Staples +0.77% and Real Estate +0.60%.
For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) dipped lower as risker global currencies outperformed as investors became more optimistic towards near-term economic relief. The dollar index fell over 0.30% against other rival global currencies on Monday. Gold (NYSE: GLD) conversely rose on the falling dollar. Spot gold increased 0.7% to $1,912.80 per ounce, while gold futures settled 0.7% higher at $1,920.10 per ounce. Crude oil futures also surged following more positive news towards Trump's health outweighing concerns over the developing typical depression in the Gulf Coast. International benchmark Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) jumped 5.9% to $41.57 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) soared 5.9% to $39.22 per barrel.
The stability of the market currently relies on the health of President Trump and the stasis of the coronavirus relief package. On Tuesday, market participants will also turn their attention on fresh data on U.S. job openings, with consensus economists excepting a reading of 6.6 million positions.