Stocks Rocketed Higher at the Open

U.S. stocks rocketed higher at the open on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 200 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index reach all-time highs, after centrist Emmanuel Macron finished first in in this weekend’s French presidential vote. The Dow lately rose 207.84 points, or 1.01%, to 20,755.60. The S&P 500 climbed 23.90 points, or 1.02%, to 2,372.59. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 68.48 points, or 1.16%, to 5,979.00.

Oil futures rebounded some on Monday, after skidding 7% to a three-week low last week, but some analysts doubt bargain buying will be enough to hoist U.S. benchmark prices much above $50 a barrel near term. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June was recently up 1% at $50.14 a barrel. June Brent crude gained 1% to $52.50.

Business economists are generally optimistic about the U.S. economy with most expecting stronger growth than last year’s poor performance. Economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics also expect improved or unchanged sales and profits at their companies in the second quarter, with most reporting no changes in hiring or investment in response to policy changes expected after the November election.

Panera Bread is going full-steam ahead to expand delivery services to more of its cafes. The sandwich shop said that it intends to hire 10,000 new employees by the end of the year to assist with this initiative.

Qatar Airways will finalise a long-negotiated agreement to buy 49 percent of Italy’s Meridiana in the coming days, and soon apply with Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund to start an Indian airline. Qatar Airways will sign the agreement with Italy’s second biggest airline in the next “few days”, Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told reporters in Dubai on Monday.