WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Extending the upward move seen last Friday, stocks moved mostly higher during the trading session on Monday. With the continued advance, the S&P 500 reached a record closing high and the Nasdaq moved within striking distance of a new record high.
The major averages ended the session off their best levels of the day but still firmly in positive territory. While the S&P 500 climbed 16.87 points or 0.6 percent to 3,039.42, the Nasdaq jumped 82.87 points or 1 percent to 8,325.99 and the Dow rose 132.66 points or 0.5 percent to 27,090.72.
The strength on Wall Street came amid continued optimism about U.S.-China trade talks as well as news that the European Union has granted the U.K.'s request for a Brexit deadline extension.
The move by the EU, which delays Brexit until January 31st, was widely expected but still removes the risk of a damaging no-deal split on Thursday.
News on the merger-and-acquisition from also generated some buying interest, with shares of Tiffany (TIF) soaring after French luxury goods maker LVMH confirmed it is talks to acquire the jeweler.
Reports suggest LVMH's bid would value Tiffany at about $120 per share or $14.5 billion. Tiffany ended last Friday's trading at $98.55 a share.
Liberty Property Trust (LPT) also moved sharply higher after agreeing to be acquired by rival commercial real estate firm Prologis (PLD) in an all-stock deal valued at $12.6 billion.
Shares of Fitbit (FIT) also spiked in recent trading after a report from Reuters said Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) has offered to acquire the wearable device maker.
The end of a 40-day strike at auto giant General Motors (GM) added to the positive sentiment, as members of the United Auto Workers union approved a new four-year contract.
Sector News
Steel stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 1.9 percent to its best closing level in well over a month.
Considerable strength was also visible among software stocks, as reflected by the 1.8 percent jump by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.
Software giant Microsoft (MSFT) posted a strong gain after beating out Amazon (AMZN) for a $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon.
Biotechnology and semiconductor stocks also saw significant strength on the day, contributing to the notable advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
While financial and healthcare stocks also moved to the upside on the day, notable weakness emerged among gold, natural gas and utilities stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries extended the notable downward move seen last Friday. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, ended the day up by 5.2 basis points at 1.853 percent.
Looking Ahead
Following a quiet day on the U.S. economic front, trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to reports on consumer confidence and pending home sales.
However, trading activity may be somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision on Wednesday.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 95.1 percent chance that the Fed will cut interest rates by another 25 basis points.
On the earnings front, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) is among the companies releasing their quarterly results after the close of today's trading.
ConocoPhillips (COP), General Motors (GM), Kellogg (K), MasterCard (MA), Merck (MRK), and Pfizer (PFE) are also among the companies due to report their results before the start of trading on Tuesday.
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