Monday’s Stock Market Open: US Equities Rise, Adding To Friday’s Rally On Optimism Over Economy Reopening

Update: 12:05 p.m. EDT:

U.S. stocks stayed in positive territory as of noon Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 239.70 points to 27,350.68, while the S&P 500 gained 14.19 points to 3,208.12 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 25.90 points to 9,839.98.

In Europe markets finished lower, as Britain’s FTSE-100 slipped 0.18%, while France’s CAC-40 fell 0.43% and Germany’s DAX fell 0.22%.

Crude oil futures dropped 3.59% at $38.13 per barrel, Brent crude slipped 3.26% at $40.92.

Original story:

U.S. stocks rose on Monday adding to Friday’s gains spurred by a surprising jobs report that buoyed traders’ hopes for a quicker recovery from the covid-19 pandemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 158.43 points to 27,269.41, while the S&P 500 gained 9.13 points to 3,203.06 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 11.99 points to 9,826.07.

Over the weekend, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to extend their output cuts through July.

On Friday, traders were pleasantly surprised after the U.S. Labor Department said some 2.5 million jobs were created in May.

“The 2.5 million rebound in employment last month reverses only a small fraction of the jobs lost since February,” said Michael Pearce, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. “But considering we and the consensus had been braced for another large decline, it builds on the signs from some of the other macro data this week that economic activity is rebounding faster and more vigorously than we had anticipated.”

Meanwhile, the number of covid-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 7 million, while the number global deaths surpassed 403,000.

German i ndustrial production plunged by 17.9% in April – an all-time record -- from the prior month -- following a 8.9% decline in March.

“Another sharp drop in industrial production shows that April 2020 will be the worst month ever for the German economy,” said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist of euro zone and global head of macro at ING.

However, in the U.S., some analysts have become hopeful.

“It appears that the most rapid bear market in history has been followed by the most dramatic recovery in history,” said Marc Chaikin, CEO of Chaikin Analytics. “While COVID-19 cases are still growing in certain states, particularly outside of densely populated urban areas, investors see the glass as half-full and are looking ahead 12-18 months.”

Overnight in Asia, markets finished higher. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.24%; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.03%; while Japan’s Nikkei-225 gained 1.37%.

In Europe markets traded mildly higher, as Britain’s FTSE-100 rose 0.33%, while France’s CAC-40 was flat and Germany’s DAX gained 0.22%.

Crude oil futures dropped 1.64% at $38.90 per barrel, Brent crude slipped 1.35% at $41.73. Gold futures gained 0.68%.

The euro edged up 0.18% at $1.1309 while the pound sterling rose 0.15% at $1.2683.