U.S. stocks book big gains Monday, S&P 500 records best day in two weeks

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Monday as quarterly corporate earnings picked up steam and the S&P 500 recorded its best daily percentage gain since Oct. 4, according to FactSet data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 550 points, or 1.9%, ending near 30,188, while the S&P 500 index advanced 2.7%. But it was the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index that led the way higher for the three big stock indexes with a 3.4% gain. The bounce in stocks came after the U.K.’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt reverse most of the previously announced “mini-budget,” including unfunded tax cuts and a reduction to energy benefits. Investors in the U.S. also have been focused on corporate earnings, including results from lending giant Bank of America as it reported a “resilient and strong” U.S consumer despite the toll of high inflation.

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