Stocks surge; for Nasdaq, a new high

Wall Street’s enthusiasm about the reopening economy sent stocks scrambling even higher Monday, and the Nasdaq composite wiped away the last of its coronavirus-induced losses to set a record.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index is back within 4.5% of its own record as optimism strengthens that the worst of the recession may have already passed. Stocks that would benefit most from an economy that’s growing again rose the most, including smaller companies, airlines and oil producers.

The S&P 500 rallied 38.46 points, or 1.2%, to 3,232.39 and is at its highest level since February, which a panel of economists said Monday is the month when the recession officially began. That’s when employment set a peak before tumbling as businesses shut down across the country to slow the outbreak.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 461.46 points, or 1.7%, to 27,572.44. The Nasdaq composite, which is more heavily weighted to the big technology stocks that held up the best earlier this year, gained 110.66, or 1.1%, to 9,924.74.

Stocks have been rising since late March, at first on relief after the Federal Reserve and Capitol Hill pledged to support the economy and more recently on hopes that the recovery may happen more quickly than forecast.

Those hopes got a huge boost Friday when the U.S. government said that employers added 2.5 million jobs to payrolls last month.

Economists were expecting to see 8 million more lost.

States across the country are slowly relaxing restrictions on businesses meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Among this week’s economic highlights are reports on inflation and the number of workers applying for jobless benefits. The headliner, though, is likely the Federal Reserve’s meeting on interest rates in the middle of the week.

The Fed has already promised unprecedented amounts of support to keep markets running smoothly, but will the recent upturn in job growth mean it will pull back at all?

Treasury yields have been climbing in recent days, reflecting rising expectations in the market for the economy and inflation. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 0.87% from 0.90% late Friday, but it’s up sharply from 0.66% a week earlier.

Stocks that would benefit most from a growing economy, meanwhile, led the market Monday to continue their recent trend.

Energy producers, banks and industrial companies rose more than the rest of the market, and nearly 80% of the stocks in the S&P 500 were higher.

Oil fell, even after major oil-producing nations agreed over the weekend to extend a cut to production through the end of July to counter the blow to demand from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for July delivery fell $1.36 to settle at $38.19 a barrel Monday. Brent crude oil for August delivery fell $1.50 to $40.80 a barrel.