By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow jumped Monday, led by financials on positive vaccine news and stimulus progress, while tech stocks look to put last month's wobble in the rear view mirror.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.1%, or 657 points. The S&P 500 was up 2.6% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.9%.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)'s COVID-19 vaccine received approval from the Food and Drug Administration over the weekend, with about 20 million doses expected to be rolled out this month and 100 million by June. The approval provided a boost to the pace of vaccinations across the U.S., stoking expectations for a stronger reopening just as progress continues to be made on the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.
The $1.9 trillion fiscal package, which includes $1,400 stimulus checks, was passed by the House of Representatives over the weekend. It is destined for a vote in the Senate.
The vaccine optimism and hopes over further stimulus being rolled out sooner rather later triggered a rally in financials with airlines also garnering investor attention.
Financials were also in favor, with Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) up more than 3%, while Citigroup (NYSE:C) rallied 6% as Jane Fraser took up the reins on Monday.
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) said Citi assets are more valuable as a sum of parts rather than a whole, as there is "significant hidden value and trapped capital," in the business.
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) was up 0.5% and American Airlines (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:AAL) were up more than 1%. Boeing (NYSE:BA) rose 5% after United Airlines said it would buy 25 additional Boeing 737 Max planes and take delivery of other orders earlier than previously planned.
Tech, meanwhile, found its footing after a recent wobble as sharp uptick in U.S. bond yields that led to the recent rout in tech steadied.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) led big tech higher, while jump in semiconductor stocks also added gains to the sector. Apple said all its stores have been reopened in the U.S. for the first time since lockdowns began last year.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) traded higher on the day.
In other news, stay-at-home stocks also rebounded, with Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) up about 9% ahead of its quarterly results due after markets close. Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) and DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) were up sharply.