Dow surges as US markets rebound

US markets rallied on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average completing its strongest session in over three months as investors piled back in to energy and other sectors expected to outperform as the economy rebounds from the pandemic.

The S&P 500 value index, which includes banks, energy and other economically sensitive sectors and has led gains in US equities so far this year, surged 1.9 percent, outperforming a 0.9 percent rise in the growth index.

That was a stark reversal from last week, when the Fed’s hawkish signals on monetary policy sparked a round of profit taking that wiped out value stocks’ lead over growth this month and triggered the worst weekly performance for the Dow and the S&P 500 in months.

“The overall theme here is the market still does not know whether it wants easy money or tight money and it’s in a tug of war,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

Microsoft rose 1.2 percent to close at an all-time high.

The S&P 500 has traded in a tight range this month as investors juggled fears of an overheating economy with optimism about a strong economic rebound.

Focus this week will be on US factory activity surveys and home sales data, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies before Congress on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8 percent to end at 33,876, while the S&P 500 gained 1.4 percent to 4,224. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8 percent to 14,141.

Cryptocurrency stocks, including miners Riot Blockchain , Marathon Patent Group and crypto exchange Coinbase Global, tumbled between 1 percent and 4 percent on China’s expanding crackdown on bitcoin mining.

Moderna rallied 4.5 percent after a report said the drugmaker is adding two new production lines at a Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing plant, in a bid to prepare for making more booster shots. (Reuters)