NEW YORK, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished the first trading session of the week on a positive note Monday, with a return of optimism among investors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 594.79 points, or 1.23 percent, to 48,977.18. The S&P 500 added 43.58 points, or 0.64 percent, to 6,902.05, and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 160.19 points, or 0.69 percent, to 23,395.82.
"The market is basically saying, 'We're going to focus on putting money back to work after doing tax-loss harvesting, doing portfolio realignments in the end of 2025, and then buying back into stocks early in 2026,'" said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
"Investors are still focusing on what the Fed is likely to do, what corporate profits will do. So far, it remains a risk-on environment," added Stovall, who was quoted by CNBC.
Among individual stocks, Chevron rose 5.1 percent, while Exxon Mobil added 2.21 percent. Oilfield services firms saw even sharper increases, with Halliburton and SLB rising 7.84 percent and nearly 9 percent, respectively.
In the technology sector, investors turned their attention to the upcoming CES marquee show in Las Vegas, despite minor fluctuations in major chipmaker shares on Monday. Advanced Micro Devices shares lost early gains and slipped 1.07 percent before the show.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on a variety of commercial and consumer loans, fell below 4.16 percent from Friday's close around 4.19 percent.
Wall Street is now bracing for a significant influx of economic data following the holiday lull, with the December non-farm payrolls report scheduled for release on Friday. ■
