Stocks Surge Higher, Dow Jumps More Than 7%

Stocks soared on Monday as evidence emerged that the lockdowns have effectively slowed down the spread of the coronavirus epidemic and death tolls in hotspots appear to have stopped rising.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,627.46 points, a 7.73 percent gain, to 22,679.99. The S&P 500 jumped 7 percent, with all 11 sectors rising. The Nasdaq Composite rose 7.3 percent. The averages ended the day close to their highs for the session, often a signal of growing bullish sentiment.

Boeing shares soared 19.47 percent, the best performing Dow stock. Apple, Visa, and McDonalds shares were all up by more than 10 percent. Proctor & Gamble, the worst-performing Dow stock of the day, was up 2.37 percent.

Proctor & Gamble’s daily underperformance on Monday likely reflects that it is down just over 11.4 percent over the last three months, making it one of the best-performing stocks on the blue-chip index during the coronavirus outbreak. Johnson & Johnson shares are down 11.76 for the day.

The best-performing stocks on the Dow over the past three months have been Microsoft, down 5.3 percent, and Walmart, just 4.04 percent. Boeing has been the worst over the period, falling 60 percent. Chevron, ExxonMobil, and J.P. Morgan Chase shares are all down by more than 40 percent, followed closely by Goldman Sachs, Walt Disney, and American Express.

Information technology was the best performing sector in the S&P, up nearly 8.8 percent. Consumer staples, the worst-performing sector, rose 3.9 percent.