NEW YORK (AP) — Technology companies led U.S. stocks higher in early trading Monday as global markets mostly calmed down following a sharp sell-off last week over worries about the spreading virus outbreak in China.
China’s main stock index tumbled in its first day of trading after an extended Lunar New Year holiday break bottled up much of the pressure that had been released in other markets. The Shanghai benchmark index fell 7.7% and China’s central bank announced it was injecting $173 billion into the markets to ensure there would be enough cash.
Health authorities released updated figures of 361 deaths and more than 17,000 confirmed cases. The World Health Organization said the number of cases will keep growing because tests are pending on thousands of suspected cases. The majority of the cases and all but one death are in China.
The outbreak is threatening China’s economy as much of the nation shuts down. Many analysts have dropped their forecasts for growth in the world's second-largest economy, to near 5% from earlier forecasts of 6% for the year. With tens of millions of Chinese city dwellers ordered to mostly stay home, retailer and tourism-related businesses already are suffering.
A slump in China’s economy is already reverberating globally as companies from Apple to Starbucks warn that their operations are being hurt by the lack of business activity. Major airlines have cut flights to China amid lower demand.
The S&P 500 index climbed 1.2% as of 10:15 a.m. as investors in the U.S. regained an appetite for risk. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 293 points, or 1.1%, to 28,559. The Nasdaq gained 1.5% and the Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks rose 1.2%.
Microsoft rose 1.6% and Intel gained 1.4% as technology stocks rose broadly.
Health care companies were also among the biggest gainers. Gilead Sciences was a standout, gaining 4.5%, on reports that one of its drugs is being tested as a potential treatment for the new virus.
Bond prices fell sharply, sending yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.56% from 1.51% late Friday in another sign that investors were more confident. The rise in bond yields helped lift banks, which rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest rates.
Outside of mainland China, other Asian markets were mixed. European markets rose.
Investors face another busy week of corporate earnings, with 94 companies in the S&P 500 index reporting results, according to FactSet.
Google parent Alphabet will report earnings later Monday, while Ford and Disney release results on Tuesday. General Motors and Merck will report financial results on Wednesday.
Nearly half of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported financial results and the corporate America is on track for its fourth straight contraction of quarterly profits.
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
William Falcon, CEO and Founder of Lightning AI, discusses the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and how everyday people can use AI in their lives.
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger toug
