Aug. 24 (UPI) — Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed the day at record highs on Monday amid rising tech stocks and optimism surrounding COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
The S&P 500 continued its record climb, rising 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day up 378.13 points, or 1.35%.
Facebook shares rose 1.64% to lead rising tech stocks as Apple gained 1.2%, Amazon grew 0.64% and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, closed up 0.61%.
Markets also reacted to positive news surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, as the United States reported fewer than 35,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time in two months.
Also on Sunday, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19.
Shares of business that would benefit from widespread lifting of coronavirus restrictions such as airlines and cruise operators rose on Monday following the optimism around the state of the pandemic.
American Airlines gained 10.53%, United rose 9.93% and Delta increased 9.28% while Carnival stock surged 10.17%, Norwegian climbed 7.58% and Royal Caribbean grew 4.71%.
