Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose considerably on Monday, ticking up steadily in the afternoon session even as Janet Yellen provided few hints on the Federal Reserve's long-term interest rate outlook in the wake of shockingly weak domestic employment data last week.
Addressing a crowd at a World Affairs Council event in Philadelphia, Yellen declined to set a specific timetable for the U.S. central bank's next interest rate hike. It marked a stark contrast from Yellen's stance less than two weeks ago when the chair of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sent strong indications that it could raise rates in the coming months if inflationary and labor market gains continued to meet the FOMC's expectations. Last Friday, though, the U.S. Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by only 38,000 in May, representing its slowest pace of gains in nearly six years. While Yellen expressed concern at the rapid deceleration in labor market growth, she cautioned economists not to "attach too much significance," to a single report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 112.93 or 0.63% to 17,919.99, while the NASDAQ Composite index added 26.19 or 0.53% to 4,968.71, closing near session-highs. The S&P 500 Composite index, meanwhile, gained 10.28 or 0.49% to 2,109.41, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green. At session-highs, the S&P 500 reached their strongest intraday levels of the year.
Stocks in the Basic Materials, Financials and Industrials sectors led, each gaining more than 0.7% on the session. A gradual tightening of monetary policy by the Fed is generally viewed as bullish for equities on Wall Street, as market players avoid higher yield plays at comparative lower rates.
The top performer on the Dow was Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), which added 4.52 or 3.55% to 131.90. Earlier, reports surfaced from Reuters that the Everett, Washington-based aircraft giant is nearing a deal to fill an order with Iran, which would provide Iranair with approximately 100 new jets. The order is expected to be in the range of a $27 billion transaction Iranair completed with Airbus Group (PA:AIR) for 118 aircraft in January. The worst performer was Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 2.55 or 1.94% to 129.19.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was TripAdvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP), which jumped 3.26 or 4.78% to 71.42. Shares in the Needham, Massachusetts-based travel website are still down more than 12% over the last year due in part to heightened global terrorism concerns. The worst performer was NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI), which ticked down 1.76 or 1.91% to 90.31 after several top analysts suggested that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) may be wise to delay the launch of the iPhone 7 beyond this fall.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG), which surged 1.40 or 14.37% to 11.14 after Barron's reported that the offshore drilling company may have been awarded a two-year contract with ONGC for a semi-submersible Jack Bates. The deal reportedly could go for as low as $127,000 per day, providing further signals of the driller's ability to withstand a prolonged down period in oil markets. The worst performer was Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE:TSN), which fell 2.36 or 3.73% to 60.85 after analysts at BMO downgraded the meat and poultry producer on Monday, amid higher soybean costs and valuations.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,127-922 margin.