The Dow closed the day’s trading 1,627.46 points in the green, as the S&P 500 saw gains of 175.03 points. Although the Dow is still down by more than 20% for the fiscal year, the index made a strong comeback as a result of stock value spikes recorded for American Express, Raytheon Technologies and JPMorgan Chase.
The Nasdaq Composite saw a 540.16-point increase for the day.
Monday’s trading saw some of the stocks most hurt by the pandemic make gains. American department store Kohl’s soared over 24%, as fellow retailer Nordstrom grew by 20%. Additionally, hospitality company Marriott International saw its stocks rise over 17% after announcing staff cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the company’s occupancy levels.
Oil prices, meanwhile, extended their stay in red territory after a key meeting to settle the ongoing oil dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia was postponed. Talks are reportedly expected to take place on Thursday.
Slowing Rates of COVID-19 Cases Ease Investor Concerns
News of the slowing rate of coronavirus infections in the US is largely fueling Wall Street’s rebounding figures. According to the latest figures released by Johns Hopkins University, there were roughly 28,000 new coronavirus cases on Sunday in the US, down by 5,000 from the number of cases reported the previous day.
Sunday also saw US officials note during a Coronavirus Task Force briefing that data has shown a leveling of hospitalization rates; however, it was also stressed by US President Donald Trump that the US would be experiencing “the peak of this terrible pandemic” this week.
Positive investor moves have also been driven by infection rates reported across Europe. Over the weekend, Italy, Spain and Germany all saw their respective rates of COVID-19 infections and deaths decline, CNBC reported, noting that Germany has started to brainstorm measures that would allow for the country to return to business as usual after its lockdown is lifted in mid-April.
