Pandemic May Have Slowed, Stocks Take Flight

Stocks in the U.S. covered higher ground Monday, rebounding from the previous week’s steep losses, as number of new coronavirus cases appeared to be slowing down.

The Dow Jones Industrials popped 1,627.46 points, or 7.7%, to 22,679.99.

Stocks such as Boeing hiked 17.5% to lead the Dow, while Raytheon, American Express and VISA all picked up more than 10% each.

The broader S&P 500 grabbed 175.03 points, or 7%, to 2,662.68, led mostly by techs, utilities and material stocks.

The NASDAQ Composite jumped 540.16 points, or 7.3%, to 7,913.24. Shares of Wayfair Inc., rocketed about 40% higher Monday after the online home goods retailer said its business had more than doubled in late March, the period when Americans started to be confined to their homes.

Investors keyed on signs that the spread was slowing in New York City, the urban metropolis reporting the highest number of cases in the U.S. The latest data showed that the city saw its first decline in coronavirus fatalities, but analysts warned it’s unclear if this would represent a lasting trend.

A falling number of deaths in Spain and Italy also buoyed investors who have seen Europe as a proxy of how long it might take for the disease’s spread to abate in the U.S.

JP Morgan Chase & Co. shares rose 4.7% as CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders that the bank had sufficient capital to get through even the most adverse scenario, but conceded the bank’s 2020 earnings would be “meaningfully” lower.
3M Co. was in focus after the company said a news report alleging the U.S. had seized shipments of N95 respirators headed for Berlin were “inaccurate.” Shares were hoisted 5.2%,

>Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury sagged, lifting yields to 0.67% from Friday’s 0.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices dropped $1.92 to $26.42 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices traveled higher $61.70 to $1,707.40 U.S. an ounce.