US: Stocks rebound on bargain hunting

The US stock market finished session higher on Monday, 22 March 2021, as investors chased for bargain hunting after last week's volatility and pullback in Treasury yields. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 103.23 points or 0.3% to 32,731.20 and the S&P 500 climbed 27.49 points or 0.7% to 3,940.59. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 162.30 points or to 1.2% 13,377.54.

The strength on Wall Street came on bargain hunting following losses for all three major indexes last week, as investors weighed brightening economic prospects against worries that interest rates will climb faster than anticipated.

Traders kept a close eye on activity in the bond market, with a decrease by treasury yields generating buying interest in high-growth companies. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 5 basis points to around 1.68%, down from 1.729% Friday, after touching a 14-month high of 1.754%, last week .

Semiconductor stocks showed a significant move to the upside. Software, computer hardware and biotechnology stocks also saw considerable strength. On the other hand, airline stocks moved sharply lower.

Banking stocks also showed a notable move to the downside on the day, with the lenders exposed to the Turkish lira suffered the most losses after the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired Naci Agbal, head of the central bank on Monday.

ECONOMIC NEWS: US Existing Home Sales Tumble In February- The National Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales in the U.S. plunged by 6.6% to an annual rate of 6.22 million in February after inching up by 0.2% to a downwardly revised rate of 6.66 million in January. The report said existing home sales in February were up by 9.1% compared to a rate of 5.70 million in the same month a year ago. NAR also said total housing inventory in February was unchanged from January at 1.03 million units, down 29.5% from 1.46 million a year ago. The report also said single family home sales plummeted by 6.6% to a rate of 5.52 million.

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