Investing.com -- Stocks on U.S. equities markets rose broadly on Monday after a disastrous stretch last week, as a slight appreciation in the euro helped fuel the rally.
Following three days of significant losses last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 228.11 or 1.29% on Monday to 17,977.42. Stocks on the NASDAQ Composite index and S&P 500 Composite index also increased more than 1% on the day.
Led by gains in the health care and utilities sectors, the S&P 500 gained 1.35% or 27.79 to close at 2,081.19. Nine of the 10 sectors on the S&P 500 closed higher with only materials lagging. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, rose 1.19% or 57.75 to 4,929.51.
The top performer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average was UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which gained 2.84% or 3.27 to 118.52. The worst performer on the Dow, meanwhile, was EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) which lost 4.26% or 3.43 to close at 77.07, after the chemical conglomerate was given a downgrade by Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC).
On the NASDAQ, Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) rose more than 5.40% to close the session as the top performer on the index. Shares in Amgen moved higher (8.46 to 162.72) following its presentation of Repatha, its new investigative cholesterol-lowering medication, at the American College of Cardiology's annual expo in San Diego over the weekend. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN), one of Amgen's main competitors, also shot up 5.23% or 22.47 on Monday to close at 451.83. The two companies, along with Paris-based Sanofi (PARIS:SASY) are embroiled in a contentious race to dominate the $10 billion cholesterol drug market. Recent studies have suggested that the new drugs could lower LDL cholesterol levels by more than 60%.
The worst performer on the NASDAQ was Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) which dropped 3.81%, following a downgrade from Evercore ISI. Netflix fell 16.69 to 421.71, amid concerns of stiffer competition in programming and increased costs as it expands its growth overseas.
On the S&P 500, the biggest gainer was Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE:EW), which rose 9.40% or 12.72 to 148.07. The worst performer was Avon Products Inc (NYSE:AVP), which lost 0.42 or 5.38% to 7.31.