Tech stocks drive US market rebound

In this March 28, 2014, file photo, trader Joel Luccese, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. US stocks surged Monday on the back of a rebound in technology stocks, helped by Janet Yellen’s assurance the Federal Reserve will continue to support the economy. AP

NEW YORK—US stocks surged Monday on the back of a rebound in technology stocks, helped by Janet Yellen’s assurance the Federal Reserve will continue to support the economy.

At the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 134.60 points (0.79 percent) to 16,457.66.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 14.72 (0.79 percent) at 1,872.34. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite jumped 43.24 (1.04 percent) to 4,198.99.

Tech stocks were the main beneficiaries of the bounce, after having been sold off heavily last week amid worries of a new bubble and fears that tensions with Russia could worsen over the weekend.

In addition, Federal Reserve Chair Yellen gave the markets support in a speech in which she underlined that unemployment was still a big challenge for the economy and that the Fed will maintain its extraordinary measures until the jobless rate falls a lot more.

“The recovery still feels like a recession to many Americans, and it also looks that way in some economic statistics,” she said.

Biotech stocks that were big losers all last week rebounded, with Gilead Sciences up 3.4 percent while rival Biogen Idec added 4.0 percent. Amgen gained 2.3 percent.

Oracle surged 3.4 percent on the Gartner report that it had surpassed IBM (+1.1 percent) to be the world’s second-largest software provider.

The largest, Microsoft, added 1.7 percent, helped by the success of its new Word app for Apple devices.

General Motors, whose problems continued to mount ahead of Congressional hearings over its recent recalls, lost 0.9 percent.

Tesla, the electric luxury car maker, lost 1.9 percent as it announced a fix for its battery fire problem.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on a 10-year Treasury was slightly higher at 2.73 percent, up from 2.72 percent Friday, while the 30-year was flat at 3.57 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.