US STOCKS-Wall Street ends up sharply, led by gains in tech shares

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* iShares Silver Trust ETF jumps
* Wall Street's fear gauge eases

(Updates to close)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on
Monday, led by gains in technology shares after last week's
steep market sell-off, while mining shares rose as the retail
trading frenzy shifted to silver.
Investors also watched talks over the latest U.S. COVID-19
relief package.
The iShares Silver Trust ETF SLV.N , the largest
silver-backed ETF, jumped as silver broke above $30 an ounce for
the first time since 2013, with retail traders jumping into the
metal after betting billions of dollars on stocks last week.
Miners Hecla Mining Co HL.N , Coeur Mining Inc CDE.N and
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp WPM.N surged.
"The retail trader focus today seems to be on silver, and
it's considered to be a small pocket of the market," said Quincy
Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial in
Newark, New Jersey.
But even though the recent trading frenzy may have changed
course, it has likely not gone away, she said. "The fact of the
matter is this is a powerful move in the markets, and it's not
just going to dissipate."
The S&P 500 technology sector .SPLRCT gave the S&P 500 its
biggest boost in the broad rally. Microsoft MSFT.O and Apple
AAPL.O were among the biggest positive influences.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
229.92 points, or 0.77%, to 30,212.54, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
60.19 points, or 1.62%, to 3,774.43 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 330.94 points, or 2.53%, to 13,401.64.
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet 10 moderate Republican
senators on Monday to discuss their proposal to shrink his
sweeping $1.9 trillion U.S. COVID-19 relief package, even as
Democrats prepare to push legislation through Congress without
Republican support. Wall Street's main indexes last week logged their steepest
weekly fall since October, as investors digested efficacy data
from Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine trial results, and a
battle between Wall Street hedge funds and retail investors
added to volatility.
The CBOE volatility index .VIX eased on Monday from
three-month highs that were fueled by a surge in shares of
GameStop Corp GME.N , AMC Entertainment Holdings AMC.N and
others that burned hedge funds that had bet against the
companies.
Robinhood, the U.S. online broker that has emerged as a
gateway for amateur traders challenging Wall Street hedge funds,
has held talks with banks about raising $1 billion in debt so it
can continue to fulfill orders for heavily shorted stocks,
according to a Reuters report, citing people familiar with the
matter. Focus also will be on more quarterly earnings reports this
week.
The latest ISM survey was mixed as U.S. manufacturing
activity slowed slightly in January, while a measure of prices
paid by factories for raw materials and other inputs jumped to
its highest level in nearly 10 years.