Stocks opened sharply higher after last week's selloff, which had pushed the S&P into correction territory. There was little to account for today’s move other than the market's oversold condition and optimism surrounding the consumer activity on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The averages moved in a narrow range for most of the day albeit, at elevated levels. Oil prices also rebounded, with WTI gaining more than 2% to settle at $51.63 a barrel.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Chicago Fed's National Activity index rose 0.1 point to 0.24 in October. In Europe, German IFO data for November came in pretty close to expectations. In Asia, Japan's manufacturing flash PMI for November slipped to 51.8 from a reading of 52.9 in October.
COMPANY NEWS: General Motors (GM) shares gained about 5% after the automaker said it will "accelerate its transformation for the future" by closing five assembly plants in North America in 2019, including one each in Detroit, Ohio, Maryland, Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Commenting on GM's plans to cut salaried and salaried contract staff by 15%, chairman and CEO Mary Barra said there will be "voluntary and involuntary programs." She also said GM plans to double resources allocated to its electric and autonomous vehicle programs. Reuters later reported that Barra will meet with White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow following the job cut announcement as President Donald Trump said, according to media reports, that he is unhappy with the restructuring and that he told Barra to stop making cars in China.
Meanwhile, electric car competitor Tesla (TSLA) was in focus after CEO Elon Musk told "Axios on HBO" that his company came close to "death" over the last year during the ramp up of the mass market Model 3. Tesla's potential death was within "single digit weeks" if the Model 3 plans did not succeed, according to Musk.
Campbell Soup (CPB) and activist Third Point announced that they have reached an agreement, under the terms of which Campbell will increase the size of its Board from 12 to 14 members and add two new, independent directors from Third Point's proposed slate.
Microsoft (MSFT) overtook Apple (AAPL) near midday as the most highly valued company in the U.S. However, by the end of the day, Apple was back on top after recovering some of its earlier session losses and finishing the day about 1% higher.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was TransMontaigne (TLP), which rose 12.5% to $40.98 after it agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of ArcLight for $41 per common unit. Also higher was JinkoSolar (JKS), which gained 15% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Zafgen (ZFGN), which plunged 40% after it announced that the FDA placed a clinical hold on the investigational new drug application for ZGN-1061. Also lower was Plantronics (PLT), which fell 9% after Logitech (LOGI) confirmed it has ended discussions to buy the company. Logitech gained about 3.5% following the news.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 354.29, or 1.46%, to 24,640.24 , the Nasdaq gained 142.87, or 2.06%, to 7,081.85 , and the S&P 500 advanced 40.89, or 1.55%, to 2,673.45.
General Motors
+1.705 (+4.74%)
Tesla
+20.83 (+6.41%)
Campbell Soup
-1.485 (-3.67%)
Microsoft
+3.49 (+3.39%)
Apple
+2.67 (+1.55%)
TransMontaigne
+4.92 (+13.64%)
JinkoSolar
+1.375 (+14.84%)
Zafgen
-3.66 (-40.35%)
Symbol changed to POLY
-4.42 (-8.68%)
Logitech
+1.13 (+3.48%)