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Stocks have moved sharply higher during trading on Monday, extending the upward move seen over the course of last Friday’s session. With the continued advance, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are climbing back towards their record highs.<\/p>\n
Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 317.25 points or 1.4 percent at 22,997.23, the S&P 500 is up 67.82 points or 1.0 percent at 6,731.83 and the Dow is up 380.05 points or 0.8 percent at 46,570.66.<\/p>\n
Apple (AAPL) has helped to lead the markets<\/span> higher, with the tech giant surging by 4.3 percent to a new record intraday high.<\/p>\n The jump by Apple comes after Loop Capital upgraded its rating on the company’s stock to Buy from Hold due to strong demand for the iPhone 17 series.<\/p>\n Positive sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to comments from National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, who suggested the ongoing government shutdown could end this week.<\/p>\n Hassett told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” he expects moderate Democrats to cross the aisle to end the government shutdown, which has entered day 20 today.<\/p>\n If Democrats continue to refuse to approve a funding bill unless it includes an extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits, Hassett indicated the White House could take “stronger measures” in order to bring them to the table.<\/p>\n The rally on Wall Street also comes after a report from the Wall Street Journal said the Trump administration is quietly watering down some of the tariffs that underpin the president’s signature economic policy.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal said President Donald Trump has exempted dozens of products from his “reciprocal tariffs” in recent weeks and offered to carve out hundreds more goods when countries strike trade deals with the U.S.<\/p>\n Sector News<\/p>\n Steel stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 3.3 percent.<\/p>\n Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) has led the sector higher, skyrocketing by 24.2 percent after revealing plans to look into building a rare earths mining business<\/span>.<\/p>\n A significant rebound by the price of gold is also contributing to considerable strength among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.<\/p>\n Airline, semiconductor and computer hardware stocks are also turning in strong performances on the day, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.<\/p>\n Other Markets<\/p>\n In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index spiked by 3.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shot up by 2.4 percent.<\/p>\n The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.<\/p>\n In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of the session. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.001 percent. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Business News<\/p>\n<\/div>\n