WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved sharply higher over the course of morning trading on Monday, regaining ground following the sell-off seen in the previous session. The major averages have climbed firmly into positive territory but only partly offset last Friday's steep losses.
In recent trading, the major averages have pulled back off their best levels, but they are holding on to strong gains. The Dow is up 289.45 points or 1 percent at 28,545.48, the Nasdaq is up 123.70 points or 1.4 percent at 9,274.63 and the S&P 500 is up 32.83 points or 1 percent at 3,258.35.
Bargain hunting is contributing to the strength on Wall Street, with traders picking up stocks at reduced levels on the heels of the steep drop seen in the previous session.
The sharp decline seen last Friday dragged the Dow down to its lowest closing level in well over a month, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also pulled back well off their recent record highs.
Adding to the positive sentiment, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing an unexpected expansion in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of January.
The ISM said its purchasing managers index surged up to 50.9 in January after slipping to a revised 47.8 in December, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in manufacturing activity.
Economists had expected the index to show a more modest increase to a reading of 48.5, which would have still indicated a contraction.
With the much bigger than expected increase, the index returned to expansion territory for the first time since July 2019.
'Global trade remains a cross-industry issue, but many respondents were positive for the first time in several months,' said Timothy R. Fiore, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
Computer hardware stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances in morning trading, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 1.9 percent. The index is bouncing off its lowest closing level in well over a month.
Seagate Technology (STX) is posting a notable gain after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded its rating on the disk drive maker's stock to Buy from Hold.
Significant strength is also visible among biotechnology stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.
Shares of Gilead Sciences (GILD) have moved sharply higher on news the drugmaker is working with Chinese authorities on a coronavirus treatment.
Financial, healthcare and chemical stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Monday, with China's Shanghai Composite Index plunging by 7.7 percent as trading resumed following the extended Lunar New Year holidays. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has advanced by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving sharply higher over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.5 basis points at 1.555 percent.
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