U.S. Stocks Extend Last Friday's Rebound But Close Well Off Highs

(RTTNews) - After rebounding last Friday but still posting steep weekly losses, stocks continued to regain ground during trading on Monday. The major averages all moved to the upside over the course of the session.

The major averages pulled back well off their highs going into the end of trading but remained in positive territory. The Dow jumped 353.44 points or 0.9 percent to 41,841.63, the S&P 500 climbed 36.18 points or 0.6 percent to 5,675.12 and the Nasdaq rose 54.58 points or 0.3 percent to 17,808.66.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness, which saw the S&P 500 plunge into correction territory last Thursday.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to the Commerce Department's report on U.S. retail sales in the month of February.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in February after tumbling by a revised 1.2 percent in January.

While the uptick by retail sales missed expectations for an increase of 0.7 percent, traders seem relieved that the data wasn't even worse.

However, traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.

While the Fed is almost universally expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will look to the accompanying statement as well as officials' latest projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

The Fed may also address President Donald Trump's new tariffs amid concerns about the economic impact of the trade policies.

Sector News

Gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.7 percent to a nearly five-month closing high. The strength among gold stocks came amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal.

Significant strength was also visible among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. The index continued to regain ground after ending last Thursday's trading at its lowest closing level in over four months.

Oil producer stocks also turned in a strong performance amid an increase by the price of crude oil, with the NYSE Arca Oil Index climbing by 1.7 percent.

Commercial real estate, semiconductor and natural gas stocks also saw notable 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 advanced by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed by 0.8 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index increased by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both rose by 0.6 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after an early upward move, closing roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 4.306 percent after hitting a low of 4.258 percent.

Looking Ahead

Reports on industrial production, housing starts and import and export prices may attract attention on Tuesday, although activity is likely to be somewhat subdued ahead of the Fed announcement on Wednesday.