Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rallied late in Monday's session erasing some of its losses from late last week, even as crude future prices remained at multi-year lows amid persisting long-term concerns related to record oversupply.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 123.07 or 0.72% to 17,251.62, while the S&P 500 Composite index added 15.60 or 0.78% to 2,021.15, one session after each suffered its worst two-day loss since late-August. The NASDAQ Composite index also gained 45.84 or 0.43% to 4,968.92 on a choppy, volatile day of trading. On the S&P 500, nine of 10 sectors closed in the green, as stocks in the Telecom, Technology and Financials industries led. Stocks in the Energy sector lagged, falling by 0.08% on the session.
Volatility, meanwhile, remained high as the Dow underwent its 13th triple-digit move over its last 15 session. The major indices are on pace for their most volatile month of December in recent memory. On Monday, the CBOE VIX Index, a preferred measure of volatility, reached as high as 20.21 in the session before closing slightly lower at 18.81. Any reading over 20 provides an indication of extreme volatility on equities markets.
The top performer on the Dow was JPMorgan Chase & Co (N:JPM), which gained 1.12 or 1.74% to 65.52. JP Morgan finished just ahead of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (N:UNH), after the nation's largest health care insurer disclosed it has reached an agreement with Foundation Medicine, a Cambridge, Mass. genetic testing company. Under the agreement, UnitedHealth Group (N:UNH) will cover one of the company's genomic profile tests for patients with metastic Stage IV lung cancer. The worst performer was Walt Disney Company (N:DIS), which fell 1.28 or 1.18% to 106.45, extending losses from Friday's sell-off. Last week, Disney plunged 3.3% in Friday's session after analysts at BTIG downgraded its stock to a sell. The downgrade came amid concerns of slower growth at ESPN, which has reeled from massive layoffs in recent months.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was VimpelCom (O:VIP), which added 0.20 or 5.98% to 3.46. Shares in the Russian telecom giant are still down more than 35% over the last three months and nearly 40% since May. The worst performer was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (O:REGN) after the major pharmaceutical company received a downgrade from analysts at Vetr, Inc. Shares in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals plunged 11.48 or 2.11% to 532.75.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was ONEOK Inc (N:OKE), which added 2.88 or 15.21% to 21.81, after the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based oil and gas company announced that it expects strong capital-grow expenditures of approximately $460 million in 2016. The worst performer was Cimarex Energy Co (N:XEC), which fell 6.26 or 5.86% to 86.08. Cimarex Energy finished just below Juniper Networks Inc (N:JNPR), which lost 1.49 or 5.20% to 27.19 after reports surfaced that the FBI is investigating the software company for allowing a foreign company to hack into a key communication network of the U.S. government.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,030 to 1,033 margin.