LIVE MARKETS-US stocks rally, rack up strong quarterly gains

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U.S. STOCKS RALLY, RACK UP STRONG QUARTERLY GAINS

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose to fresh record highs on Monday, each posting their biggest quarterly gains in over a year, rebounding sharply from April lows as hopes for trade deals and possible rate cuts ease investor uncertainty.

Trade deals with China and the UK have fueled optimism that an all-out global trade war can be avoided, with hopes for more deals to be reached before President Donald Trump’s July 9 trade deadline.

The S&P 500 .SPX gained nearly 11% for the quarter, while the Nasdaq .IXIC rose nearly 18%. The Dow .DJI climbed 5%. The small-cap Russell 2000 index .RUT ended just up over 8% for the quarter.

Meanwhile, in his weekly market letter out Monday morning, Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, noted the market's fresh record highs.

In his view, momentum and leadership is there for the rally to continue because as he sees it, the new high list "led by the biggest technology and financial stocks in the world is not bearish."

He added that with the new quarter about to kickoff, institutions that have remained mostly out of U.S. equities, will have to "play catch-up and rebalance portfolio allocations making the path higher seem quite clear."

Woods doesn't deny there is a sea of uncertainty out there.

However, he is a strong believer that 3rd quarter earnings will drive this rally higher and "despite swimming in this volatile sea, the shoreline to certainty is within sight."

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood just shortly after 4 p.m. EDT:

(Terence Gabriel)

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