US stocks rally on hopes for stimulus, dovish Fed

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks rose for a third straight session Monday, joining a global rally amid talk of economic stimulus in Germany and China and expectation of further Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

Yields on the 10-year US Treasury note were solidly higher, rising back above those for 2-year notes, an improvement for an indicator seen as a reliable recession warning.

Analysts also cited the Trump administration's decision to delay by 90 days a ban on US companies doing business with Huawei, seen as a conciliatory step in the tense US-China trade fight.

The move came as US President Donald Trump and other top administration officials have talked up efforts to revive trade talks with Beijing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 26,135.79, a gain of 1.0 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent to close at 2,923.64, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.4 percent to 8,002.81.

The Dow suffered its worst session of the year last Wednesday after yields on short-term US Treasuries briefly exceeded long-term notes, but since then, US stocks have risen retaking much of the lost ground.

Nate Thooft of Manulife Asset Management, said stocks were oversold following that rout and investors were optimistic that Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell will adopt a dovish tone Friday in a closely-watched speech at an influential central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

"The market is looking at the positives out there," Thooft told AFP, adding that the low trading volumes in the sleepy August period have sharpened market swings in recent sessions.

Among individual companies, Apple rose 1.9 percent after Trump said Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook made a persuasive argument against tariffs on Apple goods made in China in light of its rivalry with South Korean company Samsung.

Cosmetics giant Estee Lauder surged 12.6 percent as it reported a nine percent jump in quarterly revenues to $3.6 billion.

The company said it expects the category of "prestige beauty" to grow by another six-seven percent in the next 12 months on continued strong consumer demand.