Financials, industrials and tech stocks lead rally
U.S. stocks rallied to finish higher on Monday, 24 April 2017 with major indexes advancing more than 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq scoring a record high close following a strong showing by centrist Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election, which averted fears that Paris could eventually move to leave the euro and the European Union. The strong showing by Macron, who still must face off against euroskeptic rival Marine Le Pen on 7 May 2017, sparked a global relief rally for assets perceived as risky.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average umped 216.13 points, or 1.1%, to close at 20,763.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 73.30 points, or 1.2%, to a record close at 5,983.82, after reaching an all-time high of 5,989.92 earlier in the session. The S&P 500 surged 25.46 points, or 1.1%, to 2,374.15.
Nine of the index's 11 sectors traded higher, led by a gain in financials, industrial and tech stocks.
Dow was led by a surge in shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Goldman Sachs.
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron topped the field in Sunday's first-round election. He'll face off with euroskeptic, right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen in a 7 May 2017 runoff. Early polls give Macron a substantial lead.
Investors were also waiting to hear more about a massive U.S. tax package that President Donald Trump said is coming this week, which could revive the so-called Trump trade that started after his election in November, and which came on hopes that policies seen as pro-growth would swiftly pass Congress.
Perceived safe-haven assets like gold, the Japanese yen, and U.S. Treasurys all fell on the day.
Yields for the 10-year Treasury jumped to 2.27% from 2.23% late Friday.
Crude oil benchmark fell for a sixth straight session on Monday, 25 April 2017 as nagging worries about rising domestic production outweighed optimism about prospects for an extended agreement on output cuts by OPEC and other major producers.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June fell 39 cents, or 0.8%, to close at $49.23 a barrel, its lowest settlement in nearly four weeks.
June Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 36 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $51.60 a barrel on London's ICE futures exchange.
Gold for June delivery dropped $11.60, or 0.9%, to close at $1,277.50 an ounce, but off a session low of $1,266. May silver ended little changed at $17.86 an ounce.
Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday. However, on Tuesday, participants will receive several economic reports, including the February Case-Shiller Home Price Index (consensus 5.8%) at 9:00 ET, February FHFA Housing Price Index at 9:00 ET, March New Home Sales (consensus 590,000) at 10:00 ET, and April Consumer Confidence (consensus 122.3) at 10:00 ET.
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