Stocks rose broadly on Wall Street on Monday, nearly reversing the S&P 500’s losses from last week when jitters over a new coronavirus variant roiled markets.
The benchmark index rose 1.2%. More than 85% of stocks in the index gained ground, with technology companies and banks accounting for a large slice of the gains.
The rally also included airlines, cruise lines and other travel-related companies that stand to benefit from the economy staying clear of more pandemic-related restrictions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.9%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%. Small-company stocks outpaced the broader market, sending the Russell 2000 index 2% higher. Long-term bond yields rose, also making up a big portion of what they lost last week.
Wall Street was encouraged by comments from Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, who said early indications suggested that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 may be less dangerous than the Delta variant.
It will still take a few weeks to learn whether Omicron is more contagious, causes more severe illness or evades…
