* Market adds to gains in final minutes of trade
* Indexes surge: Dow 5.09%, S&P 500 4.60%, Nasdaq 4.49%
* Tech sector biggest boost, Apple up over 5%
* Forty Seven Inc hits record high on $4.9 bln offer
(Updates with close)
By Noel Randewich
March 2 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged
over 5% on Monday while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each jumped more
than 4% in a major rebound following last week's steep sell-off
sparked by fears about the coronavirus.
After the stock market extended gains in the session's final
minutes, the Dow wrapped up its strongest one-day gain since
2009, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each had their strongest
one-day rise since December 2018.
That rally followed the U.S. stock market's worst week since
the 2008 financial crisis, sinking into correction territory on
Thursday due to fears of a recession resulting from the
epidemic.
The S&P 500 remains down 8.7% from its Feb. 19 record high
close. Many investors will consider the index to remain in a
correction until it reclaims its high.
Apple jumped 9.3% in its largest one-session leap since
2008. The iPhone maker is still down nearly 9% from its record
high close on Feb. 12.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday that
Japan's central bank would take necessary steps to stabilize
financial markets. That followed a similar move by Fed Chair
Jerome Powell last Friday. "We can shrug off an economic downturn, but if it starts to
spill into companies' capacity to pay their debts, then that
creates deeper problems. But it seems to me like the central
banks are linking arms to find a way to insulate the credit
markets from economic uncertainty," said Jack Ablin, chief
investment officer at Cresset Wealth Advisors in Chicago.
Traders see a 100% chance of a 50 basis point rate cut at
the Fed's March meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI jumped 5.09% to end
at 26,703.32 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX surged 4.60% to
3,090.23.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 4.49% to 8,952.17.
Trading was very busy on U.S. exchanges, with 14 billion
shares changing hands compared with a 9.5 billion-share average
for the last 20 days.
The S&P 500 information technology index .SPLRCT jumped
5.7% in its strongest session since December 2018.
The Institute for Supply Management said domestic
manufacturing activity barely expanded last month due to supply
issues stemming from the virus outbreak. "The Fed can cut rates all it wants, that is not going to
put a person in a factory producing a product if that person is
quarantined," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading
and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
"I don't think (monetary policy) solves the problem ... This
particular one is both supply and demand, it will help but it
won't fix the problem."
Cancer drug developer Forty Seven Inc FTSV.O soared 62%
after larger peer Gilead Sciences GILD.O made a $4.9 billion
offer for the firm. Gilead jumped 8.71%. Surgical mask maker Alpha Pro Tech Ltd APT.N tumbled 22%
but remains up over 350% year-to-date.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
4.32-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.69-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 18 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 27 new highs and 149 new lows.