Tech companies lead stock rally following global gains

Technology companies led a broad rally on Wall Street Tuesday that drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 400 points higher and gave the S&P 500 its best day in more than five months.

The gains also pushed the tech-heavy Nasdaq to an all-time high and added to a solid start to February for the broader market after a downbeat January.

Investors welcomed a decision by China’s central bank to inject $57 billion into its markets. The move is the latest step by Beijing to soften the financial blow of the recent virus outbreak. Worries about the potential global economic impact of a protracted outbreak rattled markets in recent weeks, erasing the S&P 500’s gains last month.

“If China’s going to do what they can to support their markets, then maybe we don’t have as much cause for concern for our markets,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird.

Apple and Microsoft were among the tech-sector standouts. Like other major technology companies, they rely heavily on doing business with China. Health care, industrial, financial stocks also notched solid gains.

The S&P 500 index rose 1.5%, to 3,297.59. It was the index’s biggest single-day gain since early August. The Dow climbed 407.82 points, or 1.4%, to 28,807.63. The Nasdaq gained  2.1%, to 9,467.97, a record high. -- AP