S&P Pops, NASDAQ Mounts Tech Comeback

The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite gained on Monday as traders shook off recession fears and bought technology shares that were beaten up in the first quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrials moved emphatically out of the red to gain 103.81 points, and end Monday at 34,807.33

The S&P 500 was ahead 36.78 points to 4,582.64.

The NASDAQ Composite leaped 271.05 points, or 1.9%, to 14,532.55.

Tech shares, which were among the hardest-hit sectors in the first quarter as investors feared the Fed’s rate-hiking plans could hinder the group, rose on Monday.

Twitter shares gave the NASDAQ a lift after surging more than 27% following news that Elon Musk purchased a 9.2% passive stake in the company.

Tesla’s stock also rose 5.6% on the back of its latest quarterly electric vehicle delivery figures on Saturday, which came in above the year-earlier period.

Technology companies including Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Nvidia were also up more than 2%. U.S.-listed Chinese tech stocks, including Alibaba and JD.com, also rallied.

Meanwhile, shares of Starbucks dipped 3.7% after the coffee chain suspended its share buyback program.

April is typically one of the best months for stocks, edging higher in the last 20 years by 2.41% on average, MKM Partners’ JC O’Hara wrote in a note. Within 16 of the last 17 Aprils, the S&P has also inched higher.

Treasury prices sagged, with yields leaping to 2.41%, from Friday’s 2.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices regained $4.25 to $103.52 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices surged $10.80 to $1,935.70 U.S. an ounce.