Sharp Pullback By Oil Prices Sparks Rebound On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - After moving notably lower over the past few sessions, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Monday. The major averages all moved notably higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way.

The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still sharply higher. The Nasdaq surged 268.82 points or 1.2 percent to 22,374.18, the S&P 500 jumped 67.19 points or 1.0 percent to 6,699.38 and the Dow advanced 387.94 points or 0.8 percent to 46,946.41.

The rebound on Wall Street came amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery plunging by nearly 5 percent after soaring by 8.6 percent last week.

Oil prices are giving back ground after President Donald Trump called on other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

"I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory. It's the place from which they get their energy," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. "And they should come and they should help us protect it."

"Why are we maintaining the Hormuz Strait when it's really there for China and many other countries?" he asked. "Why aren't they doing it?"

The pullback by oil prices has helped ease recent inflation concerns, although the Federal Reserve is still widely expected to leave interest rates when it meets in the coming days.

Bargain hunting may also have contributed to the strength on Wall Street after the major averages dropped their lowest closing levels in over three months last Friday.

In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Fed showed industrial production in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of February.

The Fed said industrial production rose by 0.2 percent in February after climbing by 0.7 percent in January. Economists had expected industrial production to inch up by 0.1 percent.

Sector News

Computer hardware stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 2.6 percent.

Networking and semiconductor stocks also saw significant strength, contributing to the jump by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Outside of the tech sector, steel stocks also showed a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 1.7 percent.

Airline, brokerage and housing stocks also saw notable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries rebounded strongly after moving notably lower over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped 6.5 basis points to 4.220 percent.