The US markets ended sharply higher on Monday. The rebound on markets partly reflected bargain hunting after the steep drop seen last Friday dragged the Dow down to its lowest closing level in well over two months. The Dow closed lower for five straight sessions and tumbled 3.4 percent last week, marking the worst week for the blue chip index since last October. Last week's sell-off came amid concerns about the outlook for monetary policy after the Federal Reserve latest projections called for two interest rates hikes in 2023. Looking ahead, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis on Tuesday. Powell is due to discuss the Fed's response to the pandemic but could also face questions about the outlook for monetary policy.
On the sectoral front, Energy stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, moving sharply higher along with the price of crude oil. Crude for July delivery spiked $2.02 to $73.66 a barrel. Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index skyrocketed by 5.5 percent, the NYSE Arca Oil Index soared by 4.6 percent and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index surged up by 3.5 percent. Substantial strength was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent jump by the KBW Bank Index. The index rebounded off a two-month closing low. Steel stocks also saw significant strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Steel Index shooting up by 2.6 percent after ending the previous session at its lowest closing level in two months.
Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 586.89 points or 1.76 percent to 33,876.97, Nasdaq surged 111.1 points or 0.79 percent to 14,141.48 and S&P 500 was up by 58.34 points or 1.4 percent to 4,224.79.