Stocks are now sporting a modest year-to-date gain after a strong session in which strength in foreign markets, better-than-expected economic data, and leadership from bank shares helped the S&P 500 ascend to its best level since January.
Monday's gains were broad-based amid relatively high trading volume, which had showed signs of tapering off late last week. More than 1.7 billion shares traded hands on the NYSE this session.
Buyers took early cues from overseas markets, where Asian stocks marched higher following word that several Asian finance ministers ordered an emergency liquidity fund of $120 billion to be pooled. News that China's second quarter GDP is expected to outpace that of the first quarter, and a better-than-expected April PMI report, provided additional support.
European bourses fed off the good news, shrugging off news that the European Commission expects the European Union economy to shrink 4% this year, which is down from the 1.8% contraction that it had previously forecast, according to The Wall Street Journal. Germany's DAX gained 2.8% and France's CAC advanced 2.5%. Britain's FTSE was closed for holiday observance.
The upbeat tone abroad helped support a positive sentiment heading into the U.S. open. Optimism was further bolstered by news that pending home sales for March advanced by a better-than-expected 3.2% month-over-month. Though the news feeds into the housing recovery argument, it threatens to stall a housing recovery since interest rates could respond by moving higher.
Construction spending in March increased 0.3% month-over-month, exceeding the 1.6% decrease that was expected. In turn, the March report will likely be an incremental positive when contemplating first quarter GDP revisions.
The better-than-expected data helped propel the major indices markedly higher in a broad-based advance, but financials garnered the most interest. Led by diversified bank stocks (+20.5%), the financial sector gained 10.1%.
Despite what seemed to be a vote of confidence in banks, participants expect that several banks may need additional capital to satisfy the government's bank stress tests, which are scheduled to be released on May 7. In fact, an AP report said that regulators told Wells Fargo (WFC 24.25, +4.64) to shore up its balance sheet since the bank would have trouble surviving a deeper recession. Earlier in the morning, billionaire investor Warren Buffett indicated in a CNBC interview that Wells Fargo and US Bancorp (USB 20.34, +2.38) would be fine if macro conditions deteriorated further. US Bancorp was actually put on watch negative by Standard & Poor's, according to Dow Jones.
