Stocks in the U.S. closed firmly higher Monday as traders overcame their early tentativeness and looked for bargains in the wake of last week's selloff.
The major averages alternated between positive and negative territory before going to the upside for good around midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.84 points, or 0.7%, to 13,358.31, and the S&P 500 added 14.96 points, or 1.03%, at 1473.91. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 21.04 points, or 0.82%, to 2583.28.
For the bulls, who watched Thursday and Friday as mounting worries about the credit market crushed stock indices, the ascent was a welcome development. The Dow lost 208.10 points, or 1.54%, to 13,265.47 on the final day of trading last week -- a pullback that followed a decline of more than 300 points the day before. Also last time out, the S&P 500 dropped 23.71 points to 1458.95, and the Nasdaq sank 37.10 points to 2562.24.
The financial sector had a rebound, aiding the rally. After both fell by more than 5% over the previous five sessions, the KBW Bank Index was higher by 1.6% and the Nasdaq Financial Index rose 1.3%.
Many other groups also recovered and closed up. Among the winners, the Philadelphia Gold & Silver Index added 3.3%, the Amex Oil Index was higher by 1.7%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector Index also rose 1.7%.
About 4.07 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, as advancers topped decliners by a 5-to-3 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq reached 2.36 billion s
In the absence of any economic data, Treasury prices lost ground. The 10-year note was down 10/32 in price, yielding 4.80%, and the 30-year bond lost 18/32, yielding 4.97%.
After finishing a penny shy of its record close during the last session, the September crude contract gave back 19 cents to $76.83 a barrel. Gasoline prices were off by a penny at $2.08 a gallon.
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