U.S. Stocks Ride Upward Momentum To New Record Highs

(RTTNews) - Following the strong upward move seen last week, stocks saw continued strength during trading on Monday. With the continued advance, the major averages all ended the session at new record closing highs.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, finishing the day at their highs of the session. The Dow climbed 237.52 points or 0.8 percent to 31,385.76, the Nasdaq jumped 131.35 points or 1 percent to 13,987.64 and the S&P 500 advanced 28.76 points or 0.7 percent to 3,915.59.

The markets continued to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has propelled the major averages higher over the past several sessions.

A slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus in different parts of the world and vaccine rollout efforts have helped generate continued buying interest.

Traders also remain optimistic about the outlook for the global economy and the likelihood of additional U.S. fiscal stimulus.

Democrats have taken the first steps toward passing President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion relief package without Republican support but continue to favor a bipartisan approach.

Nonetheless, trading activity was somewhat subdued amid a quiet day on the U.S. economic front, with some traders away from their desks following the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Energy stocks turned in some of the market's best performances in morning trading, moving higher along with the price of crude oil. Crude for March delivery jumped $1.12 to $57.97 a barrel.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Oil Index surged up by 4.4 percent and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 3.1 percent.

Considerable strength was also visible among airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.7 percent to its best closing level in almost a year.

Semiconductor, housing and networking stocks also saw significant strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 2.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 1 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index closed just above the unchanged line, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.5 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries moved slightly higher over the course of the session after seeing initial weakness. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by 1 basis point to 1.160 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to the latest earnings news, with DuPont (DD), Goodyear Tire (GT), Hanesbrands (HBI), and Myriad Genetics (MYGN) among the companies due to report their quarterly results before the start of trading.