There were hopes for a new deal on fiscal stimulus and several corporate deals being struck. Devon Energy (+11.3%) said it would buy peer WPX Energy (+16.4%) for US$2.56 billion. Caesars Entertainment (+2%) disclosed a cash offer to buy London-based William Hill for £2.9 billion.
Shares of Uber rose 3.2% after it was given the green light to resume operations in London. American Airlines shares rose 3.8% after securing a US$5.5 billion government loan. Apple (+2.4%), Amazon (+2.6%) and Microsoft (+0.8%) shares all rose. And the S&P 500 financials index lifted 2.3% with shares of JPMorgan (+2.9%) and Morgan Stanley (+2.9%) both up. The Dow Jones index rose by 410 points or 1.5%. The S&P500 index was 1.6% higher and the Nasdaq index jumped by 204 points or 1.9%.
