Wall St soars on hopes of slowing coronavirus deaths

U.S. stocks rocketed higher on Monday, in the biggest gains in nearly two weeks, after a fall in the daily death toll in New York - the country's biggest coronavirus hot spot - fueled optimism the pandemic is leveling off in major global cities.

Conway G.

Gittens reports.

A stunning rally on Wall Street to start the week amid signs the coronavirus outbreak could be plateauing in some hot spots.... with new deaths and cases in New York, Spain and Italy giving investors hope the virus is peaking.

Even with hopes rising, U.S. officials have braced the country for a painful week.

Still, optimism prevailed, sparking a 1600-point surge in the Dow, a gain of nearly 8 percent.

The S&P 500 rose 7 percent and the Nasdaq was up even more.

But a rally of such magnitude, the largest in roughly two weeks, is premature, says Greg Powell.

He's CEO, FiPlan Partners.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): GREG POWELL, CEO, FIPLAN PARTNERS (SAYING): "It's great to see the market react so positively to positive news.

At the same time though, we still have a lot to go through over the next two weeks and it's not just the hot spots but throughout the country and so on these strong rallies like this it may be a time if people are selling on the upside and buying on the dips they may want to think about that especially with such a short week." Shares of Carnival surged Monday after Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund revealed it has taken an 8.2 percent stake in the world's biggest cruise ship operator.

The stake which was worth about $476 million at the highs of the day, instantly made the Saudi investment vehicle Carnival's second-largest investor, according to Refinitiv Eikon Data.

Carnival has had to raise cash and cut costs in an effort to ride out this turmoil.

The stock rallied 20 percent.

Another stock on the move....Wayfair.

The online home furnishing company surged 41 percent.

Despite all the doom and gloom out there, the company said it expects to meet or beat is first quarter sales forecast.

Why?

It is say business is booming as customers flock online to shop with many physical outlets closed.

Oil was largely left out of the buying.

A meeting scheduled for Monday for OPEC+, which includes fighting producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, was postponed until Thursday.

The delay sparking concern that the two sides are not close to securing a global agreement to cut production and stop a crash in prices.

Crude oil finished lower in U.S. trade.