By Matthew Rocco
| FOXBusiness
The Dow recorded its biggest one-day point gain since
2008 on Monday, as reports of trade talks between the U.S. and China reduced
fears of a possible trade war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 669.40 points,
or 2.84%, to 24,202.60 at the close.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 227.88, or 3.26%, to 7,220.54.
The S&P 500 Index gained 70.29, or 2.72%, to
2,658.55.
The rally followed the worst week for equities in more
than two years, driven in part by investors’ concerns about U.S. tariffs
targeting China.
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he
approved of a plan to impose tariffs on about $50 billion in Chinese imports.
China responded by saying it would pursue reciprocal tariffs, targeting $3
billion in U.S. goods such as steel, wine and pork.
But U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News
that he has spoken to Chinese officials, adding that he’s “hopeful” the two
sides can reach an agreement on trade.
Reports suggest that the U.S. is seeking
greater access to Chinese markets as part of the negotiations.
“Trade policy will remain in focus as investors watch to
see if tensions escalate, with negative implications for the broader global
economy, or whether tensions ease as counter parties maintain a constructive
dialogue,” Ameriprise Chief Market Strategist David Joy said in a note to
clients.
The surge in stocks also came at the beginning of a
holiday-shortened trading week. Markets will be closed at the end of the week
for Good Friday.
Shares of Facebook ended the day higher, rising 0.4%,
after suffering heavy losses last week. The company is under a microscope for
its data privacy policies.
Microsoft rallied 7.6% in reaction to a report from
Morgan Stanley, whose analysts raised their price target for the company’s shares and
predicted that Microsoft would hit $1 trillion in market value over the next 12
months.
General Electric was the lone member of the Dow with red
ink on Monday. Shares fell 1.4%, slipping to their lowest level since 2009.
West Texas Intermediate oil dropped 33 cents to $65.55 a
barrel.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to
2.845% from 2.826%.
FOXBusiness.com’s Ken Martin and Leia Klingel
contributed to this report.
