Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Stock Market News for Mar 2, 2021

Read MoreHide Full Article

U.S. markets ended sharply higher on Monday after stocks rallied on hopes of a swifter economic recovery on COVID-19 optimism and bond markets somewhat cooled down after last week’s selloff. Also, economic data show robust growth in manufacturing activity early in the year, which lifted investors’ sentiment. All the three major indexes ended in positive territory

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 2% or 603.14 points to close at 31,535.51, recording its best single day gains since Nov 9. The rally was driven by a solid 5.8% jump in The Boeing Company’s (BA - Free Report) stock.

The S&P 500 jumped 2.4% or 90.67 points to close at 3,901.82 points. This was the index’s best day since June 5. The tech and energy stocks were the best performers.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) gained 3.2%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) advanced 2.6%. All the 11 sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 3% or 396.48 points to finish at 13,588.83 points, registering its best daily gains since Nov 4. Shares of Apple, Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) jumped 5.4%, while Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL - Free Report) gained 2.4%. Apple has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 16.46% to 23.35. A total of 12.1 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 15.1 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 3.82-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 4.29-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.

Bond Markets Normalize

Markets bounced back on Monday to start the month on a high after choppy trading on fears of rising rates saw a massive selloff last week. On Monday, the 10-year Treasury note yield declined to a session low of 1.41%, thus showing signs of normalizing, which gave investors’ confidence a boost. This helped investors once again shift focus to the brightening prospects of a faster economy recovery, thus sending stocks on a rally.

Also, the vaccination drive has gathered steam couple with a decline in new coronavirus cases and deaths, which further lifted investors’ sentiments.

Economic Data

Strong economic data at the beginning of the year showed that the economy is fast getting back to its feet. On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management reported that manufacturing index jumped to 60.8% in February from 58.7% in the earlier month, indicating that manufacturing activity has been gathering steam as more people start receiving vaccine doses.

In a separate report, the Commerce Department said on Monday that U.S. construction spending rose 1.7% in January to $1.521 trillion, the highest level since the government began tracking the series in 2002.

Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021

In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 best buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2021?

Last year's 2020 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +386.8%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.

Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021 today >>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


The Boeing Company (BA) - free report >>

Apple Inc. (AAPL) - free report >>

Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) - free report >>

Published in