Feb 27 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks climbed on Monday as investors bought beaten-down shares after the main benchmarks suffered their worst weekly selloff this year on worries about tighter monetary policies.
The blue-chip Dow (.DJI) erased its gains for the year in Friday’s selloff and the S&P 500 (.SPX) logged its third straight week of losses on fears of that a strong U.S. economy and high inflation will give the Fed more room to raise rates.
The mood, however, was buoyant on Monday as U.S. Treasury yields slipped after a strong rally, lifting rate-sensitive growth stocks such Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) more than 1%.
Tesla (TSLA.O) rallied 4% after the electric automaker said its plant in Brandenburg near Berlin was producing 4,000 cars a week, three weeks ahead of schedule according to a recent production plan reviewed by Reuters.
“We are looking at a relief rally today because the market was down so much last week,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.
“February historically is the second worst month of the year for the stock market. So investors are concluding from a seasonal perspective that maybe stocks could rally at least in the near term.”
The yield on two-year notes , the most sensitive to short-term rate expectations, slipped after touching a near four-month high earlier in the session.
Traders added to their bets of a 50-basis-point (bps) hike in March after data last week showed the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the metric by which the Fed measures its 2% inflation target, rose 5.4% last month.
Fed fund futures show traders have priced in a third 25 bps hikes this year and see rates peaking at 5.39% by September. FEDWATCH
At 9:47 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was up 200.27 points, or 0.61%, at 33,017.19, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was up 28.03 points, or 0.71%, at 3,998.07, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) was up 104.12 points, or 0.91%, at 11,499.06.
Data on Monday showed new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in January but orders for durable goods that are meant to last three years or more fell more than forecast.
After last week’s hawkish comments from the Fed policymakers, investors will turn to Fed Governor Philip Jefferson’s speech later in the day.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) inched higher after it reported its highest-ever annual operating profit, even as foreign currency losses and rising rates led to lower earnings in the fourth quarter.
Seagen Inc (SGEN.O) surged 12.2% after the Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer (PFE.N) was in early talks to acquire the biotech firm. Pfizer’s shares slipped 1.1%.
U.S. railroad operator Union Pacific (UNP.N) jumped 9.6% as Chief Executive Lance Fritz said he would step down, a move that follows calls from hedge fund Soroban Capital Partners for his ouster.
Fisker Inc (FSR.N) soared 23.7% after the EV maker reported increased orders for its sports utility vehicle Ocean and maintained its production forecast for the year.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.29-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and 2.66-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded one new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 28 new lows.
Source: www.reuters.com
