Global Markets: US stocks finish higher as tech shares rally

Global Markets: US stocks advanced on Monday, bolstered by solid gains in major tech shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 114.88 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 26,584.77. The S&P 500 rose 23.78 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 3,239.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 173.09 points, or 1.67 per cent, to 10,536.27, Xinhua reported.

Shares of US tech giants, the so-called FAANG group of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet, all closed higher.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors gained, with technology up 1.61 per cent, outpacing the rest. Utilities and financials, however, struggled.

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US-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher, with nine of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

Wall Street is bracing for a busy week with a big wave of earnings reports, including quarterly results from Apple, Amazon and Alphabet.

Investors also paid close attention to a continued spike in US coronavirus infections.

About 4.27 million confirmed Covid-19 cases have been reported in the United States, with over 147,000 deaths, as of Monday afternoon, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

US equities declined in the past week that saw the Dow slide 0.8 per cent, the S&P 500 sink 0.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq lose 1.3 per cent.