Chuck Mikolajczak for Reuters:
Each of Wall Street’s three major averages kicked off the trading week with record closes on Monday as signs pointed to progress between the United States and China on a trade truce, while a round of merger deals also helped buoy sentiment.
A Chinese state-backed tabloid said Beijing and Washington were “moving closer to agreeing” to an initial pact, which lifted trade-sensitive semiconductor stocks… The Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX jumped 2.43% and was on pace for its best day in just over three weeks… The newspaper report came on the heels of comments over the weekend by a top U.S. official that an agreement was still possible by the end of the year, dampening worries the negotiations could spill over into 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 189.77 points, or 0.68%, to 28,065.39, the S&P 500 gained 23.29 points, or 0.75%, to 3,133.58 and the Nasdaq Composite added 112.60 points, or 1.32%, to 8,632.49.
Apple Inc rose 1.75% as the top boost to the S&P and Nasdaq and the second-biggest lift to the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average.
MacDailyNews Take: A rising tide lifts all boats!