Stocks closed solidly higher on Wall Street Tuesday, more than regaining the ground they had lost a day earlier. Small-company stocks rose even more than the rest of the market, a signal that investors are feeling a more optimistic about the economy, the AP reports. Technology stocks did especially well. Nike, one of the 30 stocks in the Dow, jumped 6.2% after turning in strong quarterly results. The S&P 500 rose 81.21 points, or 1.8%, to 4,649.23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 560.54 points, or 1.6%, to 35,492.70.The Nasdaq rose 360.14 points, or 2.4%, to 15,341.09.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 63.07 points, or 2.9%, to 2,202.95.
US crude oil prices rose 3.8% and helped send energy stocks higher. Chevron rose 1.7%. Bank stocks got help from rising bond yields. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.49% from 1.42% late Monday. Citigroup gained 1.9%. The gains follow several weak days for major indexes as investors assess the impact from skyrocketing cases of COVID-19 as the omicron variant spreads rapidly. Nations in Europe and Asia have implemented a variety of restrictions aimed at curtailing the spread and that has investors worried about the impact to the global economy.
The latest coronavirus wave adds to lingering worries about rising inflation's impact on economic growth. Supply chain shortages and higher raw material costs have been hitting businesses, which have passed the higher costs off to consumers. US consumer prices rose 6.8% in November from a year earlier, which marks the fastest rise in inflation in nearly four decades. "We're not out of the woods yet and we’re likely going to see more volatility through the end of the year," says Megan Horneman, director of portfolio strategy at Verdence Capital Advisors.
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