Stocks rallied in the U.S. and overseas Monday after last week’s gloomy jobs report led investors to expect that the Federal Reserve will wait even longer before making its first interest rate increase since the financial crisis.
Energy stocks rose along with the price of oil, while General Electric pushed industrial stocks higher.
On Monday the Dow Jones industrial average added 304.06 points, or 1.9 percent, to 16,776.43. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 35.69 points, or 1.85 percent, to 1,987.05, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 73.49 points, or 1.6 percent, to 4,781.26.
It was the fifth straight day of gains for the S&P 500, a reversal of the five consecutive losses for the index right before the rally began.
Monday’s rally was a continuation of a surge that began Friday, when the Labor Department said U.S. employers created only 142,000 jobs in September, far less than expected. Last week’s jobs report is being taken as positive by investors who want the Fed to postpone raising interest rates.
“It seems clear that investors have decided that the Federal Reserve cannot raise rates at its October meeting and probably cannot raise rates for longer than that,” said Kristina Hooper, head of investment strategies for the U.S. at Allianz Global Investors.
Monday’s gains were broad. Higher energy prices pushed oil and gas stocks to gains. U.S. crude gained 72 cents to close at $46.26 a barrel in New York. Brent Crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose $1.12 to close at $49.25 a barrel in London.
The energy sector of the S&P 500 gained 2.9 percent, much more than the rest of the market.
