US: Dow ends up 2.3% as stocks bounce from Friday rout

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks finished solidly higher on Monday, recovering some of last week's losses amid improved investor sentiment as Boeing shares surged on progress in returning the 737 MAX to service.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped up 2.3 per cent, or around 580 points, to 25,595.80.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.5 per cent to 3,053.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.2 per cent to 9,874.15.

Major indices lost more than two per cent on Friday as coronavirus case spikes in numerous southern and western states exacerbated worries the US economic recovery would be derailed.

While new Covid-19 cases remained at a high level Monday, analysts expect a spate of major economic data releases this week will show sequential improvement from very weak levels.

"The market is seeing the glass half-full today versus the glass half-empty at the end of last week," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities.

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This week's calendar includes reports on consumer confidence, manufacturing activity and the June jobs report.

Among individual companies, Boeing led the Dow, surging 14.4 per cent as the Federal Aviation Administration undertook a long-awaited certification flight of the 737 MAX, which has been grounded since March 2019 following two deadly crashes.

Shares of social media companies Facebook and Twitter gained 2.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, as investors shrugged off announcements by more companies such as Ford and Starbucks that they will suspend spending due to concerns about how the platforms are regulating hate speech.

Coty jumped 13.4 per cent as it bought a 20 per cent stake in Kim Kardashian West's beauty brand for US$200 million.

AFP