WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have shown a significant move to the upside in morning trading on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last week. With the upward move, the tech-heavy Nasdaq has reached another new record intraday high.
The major averages have pulled back off their best levels in recent trading but remain firmly positive. The Dow is up 264.05 points or 1 percent at 26,091.41, the Nasdaq is up 178.62 points or 1.8 percent at 10,386.24 and the S&P 500 is up 36.63 points or 1.2 percent at 3,166.64.
Strength in overseas markets has carried over to Wall Street, as Chinese shares skyrocketed on the day amid positive commentary on the market from state media.
China's Securities Times said fostering a 'healthy' bull market after the coronavirus pandemic is now more important to the economy than ever.
Traders also remain generally optimistic about the U.S. economic outlook following last Thursday's better than expected jobs data.
In the latest sign of the rapid economic recovery, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a substantial turnaround in U.S. service sector activity in the month of June.
The ISM said its non-manufacturing index spiked to 57.1 in June from 45.4 in May, with a reading above 50 indicting an increase in service sector activity. Economists had expected the index to climb to 50.1.
The sharp increase by the non-manufacturing index reflected the largest single-month percentage-point increase since its debut in 1997.
'The non-manufacturing composite index indicated growth after two consecutive months of contraction,' said Anthony Nieves, Chair of the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.
He added, 'Respondents remain concerned about the coronavirus and the more recent civil unrest; however, they are cautiously optimistic about business conditions and the economy as businesses are beginning to reopen.'
Oil service stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 3.3 percent.
The rally by oil service stocks comes despite a modest decrease by the price of crude oil, as crude for August delivery is edging down $0.05 to $40.60 a barrel.
Substantial strength is also visible among financial stocks, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index and the KBW Bank Index jumping by 3.3 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively.
Semiconductor, computer hardware and housing stocks are also seeing considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.8 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index spiked by 5.7 percent.
The major European markets have also shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has jumped by 1.7 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 1.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure after turning higher over the course of the previous session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.3 basis points at 0.692 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX