March starts strong as U.S. stocks rally: Dow up more than 300
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Stocks kicked off the first trading session of March to the upside, as oil prices gained steam, eclipsing $ 34 a barrel. Newslook
March came in like a bull for Wall Street Tuesday with U.S. stocks up sharply as better-than-expected news on manufacturing added fuel to a an early rally on China’s latest stimulus move.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up about 325 points, or 2.0% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 2.2% at 3 p.m. ET. The Nasdaq composite index rose 2.6%.
U.S. crude rallied and was up 2.0% to $ 34.42 a barrel.
Global stocks got a boost after China freed more money for lending by lowering the amount commercial lenders must hold in reserve in a move to shore up slowing economic growth.
That helped Wall Street rally at the opening bell, and U.S. stocks extended their gains following news U.S. manufacturing activity shrank less than expected during February. The Dow was up about 125 points at 10 a.m. ET when the ISM news was released.
Separately, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose 1.5% in January as outlays on nonresidential buildings and government projects rose. That was the largest gain in eight months and the highest level in eight years.
Bank and tech stocks led the charge. Bank of America rose 5% to $ 13.15 and JPMorgan Chase gained 4.3% percent, to $ 58.72, pacing the gains among financial stocks. The S&P 500's financial index has slumped 9% this year, worse than any other industry, as investors worry about loans to energy companies and low interest rates. In the tech space, Apple gained 3.9% to $ 100.63, its first time over $ 100 in more than a month. Google parent Alphabet Google rose 2.7% to $ 716.84, Microsoft added 2.9% to $ 52.36 and Facebook added 2.4% to $ 109.45.
Karyn Cavanaugh, senior markets strategist for Voya Investment Management, says investors abandoned tech and bank stocks as the market slumped in January and February. "They've just been beaten with a stick this year," she says. "Earnings have not been that bad and the companies' financials are not that bad."
In Asia, China's Shanghai composite index jumped 1.7% to finish at 2,733.17. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.4% to close at 16,085.51 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.6% to 19,407.46.
Germany's DAX index rose 2.3%, France's CAC 40 was 1.2% higher and Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.9%.
U.S. stocks ended February on a sour note Monday as oil prices rose and a meeting of G20 finance officials ended without pledges for joint action to stimulate sagging global economic growth.
Contributing: Associated Press
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