U.S. stocks rise on support of corporate profits…and Dow Jones rises 314 points
On the first day of the week, far from the tragic events in the besieged Gaza Strip, US stocks resumed their rise, with corporate earnings reports expected to be released soon, about which there is generally great optimism.
By the end of Monday’s trading, major stock indexes recovered Friday’s losses as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 314 points, representing 0.93% of its value, and gave the world’s most popular index its best day since September.
The S&P 500 index rose 1.06%, while the Nasdaq index’s gains reached 1.20%, and eleven S&P sub-indexes for various sectors of the economy rose.
About 11% of the companies that make up the S&P index are preparing to report their results this week, led by Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, Netflix and Tesla.
In Europe, stocks opened the week on a higher note on Monday, supported by gains in the financials and mining sectors, while investors resisted risk amid the possibility of escalating conflicts in the Middle East.
The European STOXX 600 index rose 0.2% in today’s trade close as mining and retail stocks led gains.
Israeli forces continued to bombard Gaza on Monday after diplomatic efforts to arrange a cease-fire to allow foreign nationals to leave and bring aid into the besieged Palestinian territory failed.
The volatility index of European stocks hit an eight-week high, Reuters said.
The mining index rose 1.8%, thanks to a rise in base metals prices and hopes for increased demand from China. The index’s gains were supported by a 2.4% rise in SSAB shares after JP Morgan raised its rating on shares of Swedish Steel. .
Shares in financial institutions rose 1%, with UBS shares up 1.9% after Canadian bank RBC raised its rating on Swiss bank shares. The British Financial Times Index rose 0.6%.
Concerns about the strength of the euro zone’s labor market and fears of conflict in the Middle East have kept investors on edge recently, although reports from Federal Reserve policymakers on monetary easing have eased some concerns.
Oil futures fell more than a dollar a barrel on Monday, on expectations that the United States will soon reach a deal with Venezuela to ease sanctions on its crude exports. The conflict between Israel and Palestinian resistance does not appear to threaten oil supplies in the short term, traders said.
Brent crude futures were down $1.24, or 1.4%, at $89.65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.03, or 1.2%, at $86.66 a barrel.
Venezuela’s government and opposition said they would resume political talks this week after a nearly year-long hiatus, while the United States has reached a preliminary agreement to ease sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, according to reports. A Latin American country next year.
“The reported deal will help … boost the country’s oil production from record lows,” said William Jackson, senior emerging markets expert at Capital Economics.
He added: “But the sector needs massive investments to restore production to 10-year levels… This will not significantly affect the deficit in the global oil market in the near term.”
Both crude oil prices rose about 6% on Friday, the biggest daily gain on a percentage basis since April, as investors took into account the possibility that the scope of the conflict in the Middle East could widen.
On the week, Brent posted record gains and rose 7.5%, its biggest weekly gain since February, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 5.9%.
John Gilduff, partner at Again Capital, said: “As of Monday, the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on crude oil supplies has been successful.”
