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Wall Street rose on Monday, though indexes ended far from the highs of the day, in a relief advance after indications that British voters later this week will choose to remain in the European Union.
The day's gains were cut in more than half from the session highs, but contrasted with declines in six of the last seven sessions. The S&P 500 closed 0.6 per cent higher after gaining as much as 1.4 per cent, but the advance was still the largest in nearly a month.
Stocks fell sharply last week, partly on worries of what a British exit from the EU would mean for the global economy. The vote on whether to stay is scheduled for Thursday and the most recent polls showed a change in momentum to favor the 'remain' camp.
“The market is positioning for a 'remain' vote, so you see the fear and uncertainty trade unwinding right now,” said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
She said, however, that the reverse trade could be triggered by any sign the Brexit - or British exit from the EU - camp is gaining momentum.
“It is a long time between now and Thursday.”
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 129.71 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 17,804.87, the S&P 500 gained 12.03 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 2,083.25 and the Nasdaq Composite added 36.88 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 4,837.21.
The S&P 500 once more hit technical resistance at 2,100, a level that has seen clusters of sellers in the recent past. Despite the afternoon slide, all but one of the 10 industry groups of the S&P 500 ended in positive territory.
The iShares MSCI United Kingdom exchange-traded fund rose 4.0 per cent in more than 3.5 times its average daily volume. The British pound gained 2.2 per cent versus the US dollar on its strongest day in 7-1/2 years.
US-traded shares of JD.com rallied 4.6 per cent to $21.06 after Walmart said it would sell its Chinese e-commerce business to JD.com and create a strategic alliance. Walmart shares gained 0.2 per cent to $71.10.
Lending Club Corp gained 2.7 per cent to $5.00 after Chinese billionaire Chen Tianqiao raised his stake in the online lending platform, following the recent ouster of founder and Chief Executive Renaud Laplanche.
NYSE advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.47-to-1 ratio and on the Nasdaq a 2.79-to-1 ratio favoured gainers.
About 6.6 billion shares were traded in US exchanges, below the 6.83 billion daily average over the past 20 sessions.
The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq recorded 64 new highs and 35 new lows.
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