Stocks rebound; Dow surges 354

Banks, Amazon lead the way

NEW YORK >> Stocks rose sharply Monday after taking big losses last week.

Major technology companies recovered some of their recent losses, and retailers and travel companies climbed on the first full trading day of the holiday shopping season.

The S&P 500 climbed 40.89 points, or 1.6 percent, to 2,673.45. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 354.29 points, or 1.5 percent, to 24,640.24.

The Nasdaq rose 142.87 points, or 2.1 percent, to 7,081.85.

Stocks have been in a steep downturn since early October, but that slump has included some substantial rallies. Banks rose Monday as interest rates turned higher after a two-week slide. The first full trading day of the holiday shopping period was a strong one for companies that sell goods and services to consumers. Amazon surged 5 percent and Tiffany rose almost 4 percent.

On Friday the benchmark S&P 500 index closed 10.2 percent beneath the record high it had set in late September. That’s the second time this year the index has dropped 10 percent from a recent peak, a mark known on Wall Street as a “correction.” The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite and the smaller, more U.S.-focused Russell 2000 have suffered even worse downturns dating to late August.

Stocks have skidded recently as investors have grown doubtful that the U.S. and China will resolve their differences over technology policy and other issues. Their fears could be confirmed or upended in a few days, as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to discuss their trade dispute at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the end of this week.