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* Indexes up: Dow 2.20%, S&P 2.00%, Nasdaq 1.91%
* Apple biggest boost on Oppenheimer upgrade, bargain buying
* Forty Seven Inc hits record high on $4.9 bln offer
(Updates comments, prices)
By Ambar Warrick and Sanjana Shivdas
March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes rose on Monday,
recovering from steep declines amid a spell of bargain hunting,
while investors hoped that monetary stimulus from central banks
would help tide over the potential economic impact of the
coronavirus.
Index heavyweight Apple Inc AAPL.O jumped 6%, recovering
from a more than two-month low after Oppenheimer & Co upgraded
the stock to "outperform", while also advising investors to buy
into weakness in the stock. The so-called FAANG stocks, barring Facebook FB.O , also
rose 1%.
At 11:20 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 559.36 points, or 2.20%, at 25,968.72, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 58.98 points, or 2.00%, at 3,013.20. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 163.41 points, or 1.91%, at 8,730.78.
Wall Street had marked its biggest weekly decline on Friday
since the 2008 financial crisis, sinking into correction
territory amid fears of a recession resulting from the epidemic.
"The selloff was so fierce last week that you do have some
buy-the-dip investors emerging," said Brent Schutte, chief
investment strategist, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management
Company, adding that trading would be volatile based on how the
virus was appearing to impact the economy.
Wall Street's drop, coupled with data showing Chinese
factory activity contracting at its worst pace ever in February,
saw investors increasing bets on central bank stimulus to shore
up growth. Investors now expect the Fed to deliver a 50 basis points
rate cut 0#FF: when it meets on March 17-18. USD/
"We continue to believe that stimulus will actually take
hold and push the economy higher as the impact of the
coronavirus (will) likely dampen over the longer term," Schutte
said.
Private and official surveys showed U.S. manufacturing
activity barely expanded last month due to supply issues
stemming from the virus outbreak. Cancer drug developer Forty Seven Inc FTSV.O jumped 61.7%
after larger peer Gilead Sciences GILD.O made a $4.9 billion
offer for the firm. Gilead rose 4.1%. China's JD.com Inc JD.O rose 11.5% after it forecast at
least a 10% rise in revenue for the first quarter, after posting
better-than-expected quarterly results. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.75-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.70-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and 17 new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 13 new highs and 102 new lows.