S&P and Dow gain ground on Omicron fears

Nov 29 Reuters -- Wall Street stocks were higher on Monday, gaining some ground lost in Friday's sell-off, as investors appeared hopeful that the Omicron coronavirus variant would not lead to lock downs, despite the assurances from U.S. President Joe Biden.

Nasdaq led gains among the majors with help from the technology sector, while the S&P and the Dow went up after suffering their biggest one-day declines in months in Friday's holiday-shortened session, as investors worried that the latest COVID 19 variant would cause economic disruption.

Biden said on Monday that Omicron related lockdowns were off the table for now, though he noted that the variant was a cause for concern but not for panic. He urged Americans to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors. He said the United States was working with pharmaceutical companies to make contingency plans if new vaccines were needed.

The comments and indications from drug companies that they are taking the variant seriously were reassuring for investors who had been worried about the potential for further COVID restrictions.

Friday was a major de-risking event. The market had to go back to its worst fears of COVID spreading and the return of lockdowns. Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said he was a market analyst.

When you listen to the President, you're beginning to see there's some optimism when you listen to the Pfizer CEO. We're in a period of wait and see, and we're in a period of Omicron panic. Pfizer, its partner BioNTech and their rivals Moderna and Johnson Johnson said they are working on vaccines that target Omicron in the event that their existing shots are not effective against the variant. Carol Schleif, deputy chief investment officer for the BMO family office in Minneapolis, said that investors have been trained this year to buy the dip after Friday's knee-jerk reaction. People are willing to just take a deep breath and try to be a little more patient. The S&P 500 gained 58.74 points, or 1.28%, to end at 4,654 according to preliminary data. The Nasdaq Composite gained 288.61 points, or 1.86%, to 15,780, while the Nasdaq Composite increased by 43 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 226.75 points, or 0.65%, to 35,126. Technology led the percentage gains among the 11 major sectors of the S&P. Amazon.com and Tesla Inc. climbed, helping to boost the consumer discretionary sector with investors viewing Friday's losses as a cue for bargain-hunting on high-value tech names.

The Dow was ahead of its peers as it underperformed its peers with pressure from Merck Co Inc, which extended losses from Friday. Data from a study of its experimental COVID- 19 pill showed a lower efficacy in reducing hospitalization and deaths than previously reported.

The social media firm said CEO Jack Dorsey will step down and be replaced by Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal. Dorsey had been in the unusual position of having the CEO position of two major technology companies, the second being digital payments firm Square Inc Advanced Micro Devices after a report that electric-car maker Tesla has started using a new AMD chip in Model Y vehicles in China.

The shares of Tesla went up after a report by Elon Musk that the company's chief Elon Musk urged employees to reduce the cost of vehicle deliveries.

Microsoft and Apple Inc. gained ground after HSBC increased its price target on the iPhone maker's stock after it was raised by the company's price target on the iPhone maker's stock.