Stocks recover from bumpy start

U.S. stocks closed higher Monday after a last-minute market rally erased the losses from a daylong slump.

Technology companies led the market rebound. Banks and health care stocks also notched gains. Energy took the biggest losses as crude oil prices declined. Big department store chains and consumer goods companies also declined.

The S&P 500 index rose 8.34 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,726.71. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 35.77 points, or 0.2 percent, to 24,307.18. The Nasdaq composite jumped 57.38 points, or 0.8 percent, to 7,567.69. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 12.02 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,655.09.

The stock market, which was coming off two weekly losses in a row, was in the red for most of the day after disappointing economic data out of Asia that left global indexes sharply lower.

Trading volume was lighter than usual ahead of today, when U.S. markets are scheduled to close early for the Independence Day holiday Wednesday.

“We opened very low and then, during the course of the day, the market started to basically gain some momentum,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “The volume in the market typically comes down markedly in a holiday week, and moves can be exaggerated to the upside as well as to the downside by events, headlines or data.”

A slump in global markets weighed on U.S. stocks from the get-go Monday, after new economic reports out of China and Japan disappointed traders. A German government crisis also weighed on markets in Europe, which closed lower.

“You saw some of the more tariff-sensitive stocks a little bit weaker on the opening,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist for TD Ameritrade. “It’s all headline news trading.”

U.S. stocks gradually pared their losses as the day went on, led by gains in technology stocks.

Investors continued to focus on global trade tensions. The European Union warned President Donald Trump’s administration Monday that it might impose tariffs on $300 billion of U.S. exports in retaliation for Trump’s threatened tariffs on European cars. On Sunday, Canada started imposing tariffs on billions of dollars of U.S. goods in response to the Trump administration’s duties on Canadian steel and aluminum.

The U.S. is set to impose a 25 percent tariff on up to $34 billion of Chinese products starting Friday. In response, China has said it will raise import duties on $34 billion worth of American goods, including soybeans.

“We’re just not sure what’s going to happen with that,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist with U.S. Bank Wealth Management. “We don’t think a lot of the July 6 tariffs have yet to be fully priced into the market.”

Technology companies led the market rebound. Micron Technology led the sector, gaining 3.9 percent to $54.48.

“You’re getting a reaction to last week, when technology did so poorly and now they’re getting a bounce here,” Haworth said.

Tracking shares in computer maker Dell vaulted 9 percent to $92.20 after it announced it would go public again after five years as a private company. Meanwhile, shares in VMware jumped 10.2 percent to $162.02 on speculation that Dell may buy the rest of the business software company, which will also issue a special dividend to shareholders.

Wynn Resorts sank 7.9 percent to $154.14 after June revenue growth at the casino operator’s resorts in Macau fell well short of Wall Street’s expectations.