Nasdaq surges to record high as stocks rally

Investors greeted the first recession in 11 years with yet another stock surge that sent the Nasdaq composite to a new record and lifted the S&P 500 into positive territory on the year.

The Nasdaq stormed past its previous record to close to 9,924, an 110-point gain or 1.1 percent. The previous mark was 9,817.18.

The S&P 500 finished at 3,232.39, a gain of nearly 1.2 percent on the day. The S&P, which had been more than 30 percent in the hole three months ago, erased its losses for the year. The Dow

Jones Industrial Average also had a big day, jumping 461 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 27,572.44.

Markets are on pace to post three straight months of gains on the back of renewed optimism of an economy breaking out of the coronavirus lockdown and a federal government that has fed trillions to businesses and the 40 million unemployed. Investors are convinced that the economy will either quickly revive or the government will step in again.

“This appears to be the triumph of hope over experience,” said Michael Farr, president of Farr, Miller & Washington. “People are believthe win-win scenario, which means either the recovery happens and corporate earnings really do recover and go up. Or it means the government continues to add stimulus. In short, the market doesn’t believe these are problems that a couple more trillion from the federal government can’t solve.”

The U.S. economy added 2.5 million jobs in May, the Labor Department reported Friday, a shockingly positive reading that lifted the Dow 829 points, or 3.2 percent. The S&P 500 is now within 1 percent of turning positive for 2020, after having been down as much as 30 percent, while the tech-heavy

Nasdaq is brushing up against a new high.

The employment picture continues to brighten, with as many as 400,000 people returning to work Monday in New York City, once the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak. The city is kicking off phase one of its reopening plan by allowing nonessential retailers, construction sites and manufacturing to resume operations.

Still, a resurgence in COVID-19 cases could imperil the recovery. Twenty-three states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have seen an increase in the rolling seven-day average of coroing navirus cases compared with the previous week, according to data compiled by the Post. Most have registered at least a 10 percent rise in cases

Investors are waiting to hear Wednesday from the Federal Reserve, which will issue an updated policy statement and its first economic projections of 2020.

Oil prices edged downward Monday, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, trading down 1.1 percent at $41.84 a barrel. Over the weekend, OPEC and its allies agreed to extend production cuts through July to keep oil supplies from ballooning.