Wednesday was the best day in almost a day for stocks as the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched the largest one-day point gain in its history. The gains were the result of the rallies in retail and energy shares and helped the Wall Street recover from the steep losses which it suffered during the previous session.
The 30-stock Dow went 1,086.25 points up and closed at 22,878.45. Wednesday’s gain was seen as the biggest upside move on a percentage basis since March 2009. The S&P 500 rose by 4.96% marking its biggest day since March 2009 as energy, consumer discretionary, tech and energy sectors rose by more than 6%.
The Nasdaq Composite also surged by 5.84%, highest since March 2009. It was also the largest post-Christmas rally for the U.S. stocks ever. On Wednesday, the retailers were one of the best performers with SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) rising by 4.7%. Wayfair, Dollar General and Kohl’s shares rose by 7% and more.
Mastercard Spending Pulse data showed that it was the best holiday season for the retailers in almost six years. Amazon’s stock also rose by 9.45% after the company said in a statement that a record number of items were sold this holiday season.
The U.S. crude oil prices rose by 8% pulling up the energy stocks. Marathon Oil and Hess stocks were at the top of the energy sector, rising by 11.9% and 11% respectively.
On Monday, the strong sell-off sent the major indexes down by 2% and more and as a result, the S&P 500 fell into a bear market. The pullback of Monday was also the worst decline on a Christmas eve ever.
The recent decline in stocks has weakened the buyers’ confidence all over the world. It will take some time before the buyers’ confidence will be recovered.
Source: CNBC, MSN
