Highlights
A retreat in oil prices and bond yields and a continuing rebound in the AI trade lifted risk appetite and major stock averages on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.7 percent while the S&P 500 gained 1.5 percent and the Nasdaq was up 2.3 percent. The dollar index edged up.
Oil prices declined amid reports of increasing oil flows through the Persian Gulf. On the diplomatic front -- with the United Nations General Assembly under way in New York -- the market hopes for some kind of meeting involving Iranian leaders and President Trump, in addition to the Trump meeting with Chinese President Xi. The AI trade extended its recent recovery as investors focused on continuing progress in AI development regardless of talk of slowing down. Meta's successful introduction of a new AI agent lifted the social media stock and the chip sector to boost the AI trade.