Markets Right Now: US stocks gain, led by tech and banks

NEW YORK – The latest on developments in financial markets (all times local):

11:45 a.m.

Stocks are climbing as investors’ worries about trade tensions between the U.S. and China eased following a flare-up last week.

Technology companies like Apple and Microsoft are bouncing back from their recent losses Monday, and banks are rising along with interest rates.

Apple rose 2.2 per cent and Microsoft climbed 2.5 per cent. JPMorgan Chase added 2.4 per cent.

Gene therapy developer AveXis soared 79 per cent after drugmaker Novartis agreed to buy it.

The S&P 500 index rose 40 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 2,644.

The Dow Jones industrial average increased 345 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 24,279. The Nasdaq composite added 135 points, or 2 per cent, to 7,050.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.81 per cent.

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9:35 a.m.

Stocks are opening solidly higher on Wall Street, led by gains in big technology companies.

Apple rose 1.4 per cent in early trading Monday, and Microsoft climbed 1.1 per cent.

Banks were also higher as bond yields rose. JPMorgan Chase was up 1.1 per cent.

The early gains erased some of the market’s losses from last week.

The S&P 500 index rose 14 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,618.

The Dow Jones industrial average increased 166 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 24,095. The Nasdaq composite added 57 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 6,970.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.80 per cent.