Bargain Hunting Contributes To Higher Close On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Monday but largely maintained a positive bias and managed to end the day higher. The gains on the day partly offset the steep losses posted in the two previous sessions.

The major averages spiked higher going into the close, ending the session firmly in positive territory. The Dow climbed 123.07 points or 0.7 percent to 17,251.62, the Nasdaq advanced 45.84 points or 0.9 percent to 4,968.92 and the S&P 500 rose 15.60 points or 0.8 percent to 2,021.15.

The higher close on Wall Street was partly due to bargain hunting after the steep drop seen late last week, which pulled the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in two months.

Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, as some traders remained away from their desks ahead of Christmas.

A lack of major U.S. economic data also kept some traders on the sidelines, although several key reports are due to be released in the coming days.

Traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on new and existing home sales, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending.

Among individual stocks, shares of Ericsson (ERIC) moved sharply higher after the telecom company settled patent litigation with Apple (AAPL) by signing a licensing agreement.

Biotechnology company Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) also posted a strong gain after announcing a global collaboration and license agreement with Eli Lilly (LLY).

On the other hand, shares of Disney (DIS) moved to the downside even though the media giant's new Stars Wars movie set records at the box office over the weekend.

Sector News

Gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.4 percent. With the gain, the index climbed further off the nearly one-month closing low set last Thursday.

The strength among gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, as gold for February delivery climbed $15.60 to $1,080.60 an ounce.

Considerable strength was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. China Southern Airlines (ZNH) helped lead the sector higher, jumping by 8.8 percent.

Telecom stocks also saw significant strength on the day, resulting in a 2.2 percent gain by the NYSE Arca Telecom Index.

Semiconductor, biotechnology, and electronic storage also turned in strong performances, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all turned lower over the course of the session. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index slumped by 1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction for much of the day before closing roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 2.197 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading on Tuesday may be impacted by the National Association of Realtors' report on existing home sales as well as the Commerce Department's final report on third quarter GDP.