Dow jumps 259 points as Irma, N. Korea fears ease
The Dow jumped more than
250 points Monday and climbed back above the 22,000 level after worst-case fears related to Hurricane Irma and the North Korea crisis didn’t materialize.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 259.58 points, or
1.19%, to 22,057.37. It was the Dow’s biggest daily point and percentage gain since March 1, when it rallied 303 points, or 1.46%.
The large-company Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index closed at a record high of 2488.11, after rallying 1.1%.
David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff, says investors were willing to take on risk again in their portfolios after worries about extreme weather in the U.S. and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions showed signs of “abating ” after dragging down stocks last week.
One risk factor that was downgraded was damage estimates from Hurricane Irma, which is now a tropical storm after hitting the Florida Keys this weekend as a Category 4 storm. Rosenberg sees damages in the neighborhood of $50 billion, far below the
$100 billion-plus feared.
The second worry that didn’t materialize was a feared missile test by North Korea over the weekend.
The market rally came on the
16th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, an event that closed the New York Stock Exchange for four days in 2001. Traders marked the day with a moment of silence at the start of trading.