Stocks End Sharply Higher; S&P 500 Closes at Record High Level
Stocks rose sharply in trading on Monday as investors digested better than expected pending home sales data. Investors’ sentiment was also lifted as political uncertainty in Italy finally ended.
The S&P 500 closed at record high levels, while the Nasdaq closed at its highest level since November 2000. The Dow Jones ended the day 0.72% higher at 14,818.75, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.72% higher at 1,593.61, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.85% higher at 3,307.02.
All sectors in the S&P 500 ended the day sharply higher. The gains were led by Basic Materials sector, which ended the day 1.38% higher. Technology sector ended the day 1.30% higher, while Energy sector rose 1.29%.
Among the major movers on Monday were Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which ended the day 3.10% higher at $430.12, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), which ended the day 2.58% higher at $32.61, and Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA), which ended the day 9.40% higher at $55.03.
On the economic front, a report released by the National Association of Realtors showed that pending home sales rose 1.5% in March. Economists were expecting pending home sales to rise 1%. A report from the Commerce Department, meanwhile, showed that consumer spending rose 0.2% in March.
European markets ended mostly higher on Monday, with the FTSE 100 Index in London closing 0.49% higher, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris closing 1.54% higher. Asian markets ended on a mixed note overnight, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan closing 0.30% lower, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closing 0.15% higher.
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Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
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