US stock markets saw significant increases on Monday after a slow start. By the close in New York, the Dow stood at 51,268 points, reaching a gain of 0.2 percent. However, the broader S&P 500 climbed 0.7 percent, moving closer to its all-time high, ultimately finishing at 7,774 points. These stock market gains were primarily driven by tech stocks; the Nasdaq-100 rose even more sharply, gaining 0.9 percent to reach 31,076 points. At one point during the trading day, it even hit a record high of 31,117 points. Despite the high oil prices and bond yields, a mood of unusual optimism dominated the trading session. However, the betting on energy prices did shift toward the end of the day. A barrel of Brent crude oil cost $100.20 around 10 PM Central European Time, which represented a drop of 202 cents, or 2.0 percent, compared to the close of the previous trading day. The European common currency weakened by Monday evening; the euro bought for $1.1219, meaning a dollar was valued at 0.8913 euros. Finally, the price of gold saw a slight decline, with prices for a fine ounce coming in at $4,139 in the evening (-0.1 percent), which translates to 118.61 euros per gram.
Economy / Finance
