US STOCKS-Wall Street jumps, financials take the lead

* Banks, energy and industrials sectors lead S&P 500 gains
* Devon Energy, WPX Energy jump after agreeing to merger
deal
* Uber rises after courts give co London go-ahead
* Indexes up: Dow 1.82%, S&P 500 1.70%, Nasdaq 1.53%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
Sept 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street surged on Monday in a broad
rally as investors sought bargains among sectors hardest-hit by
the coronavirus recession, now limping toward its ninth month.
All three major U.S. stock indexes were solidly higher on
the heels of the longest weekly losing streak in over a year for
both the S&P 500 and the Dow.
But energy .SPNY financials .SPSY and industrials
.SPLRCI , which suffered the most bruising blows from the
economic shutdown, enjoyed among the largest percentage gains
among major S&P 500 sectors, all of which were up more than 1%.
"Investors are looking for opportunities," said Oliver
Pursche, president of Bronson Meadows Capital Management in
Fairfield, Connecticut. "And financials and industrials have
underperformed in the last few months, so it's not surprising to
see rotation into them."
But even with Monday's jump, the indexes are only days away
from closing the books on their first monthly declines since
March, when markets were sent into a freefall by
pandemic-related lockdowns.
"September is usually a rough month for markets," Pursche
added. "But people are going to get their third-quarter
statements and be very happy with the sharp rebound."
Indeed, with the third quarter's expected gains, the S&P is
on course for its best two-quarter winning streak since 2009,
and the Nasdaq is set for its largest advance since 2000.
Market leaders Apple Inc AAPL.O , Amazon.com AMZN.O and
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O once again gave the biggest boost to the
S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, and 29 of 30 constituents of the
blue-chip Dow were in the black.

Data released over the weekend showed Chinese industrial
profits grew for the fourth straight month, evidence of progress
in the global recovery from the pandemic recession. The lack of a COVID-19 vaccine and an additional fiscal
stimulus package from Washington nearly two months after
emergency unemployment expired for millions of Americans have
weighed on the markets in recent sessions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 493.96 points,
or 1.82%, to 27,667.92, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 56.1 points,
or 1.70%, to 3,354.56 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
167.42 points, or 1.53%, to 11,080.98.
American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O announced late Friday
that it has secured a $5.5 billion government loan, and might
access more. The news sent the commercial carrier's stock up
4.5%. This also gave a lift to the broader airline sector, which
was badly stricken by pandemic-related restrictions and plunging
demand. The S&P 1500 Airlines index .SPCOMHOME gained 4.4%.
Boeing BA.N extended Friday's gains, rising 6.1% after
Federal Aviation Administration Chief Steve Dickson said the
agency was set to conduct a 737 MAX evaluation flight this week.
Devon Energy Corp DVN.N said it would buy peer WPX Energy
Inc WPX.N for $2.56 billion, sending their shares jumping
11.3% and 15.9%, respectively.
Ride-hailing platform Uber Technologies Inc UBER.N rose
3.2% after a judge ruled the company could resume operations in
London. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
6.30-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.00-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 6 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 25 new lows.