US STOCKS-Nasdaq ends at record, confirms bull market on economic recovery hopes

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Energy stocks soar as OPEC+ extends oil output cut
* Airlines, cruise operators jump

(Adds details)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
June 8 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq posted a record closing high
on Monday, becoming the first of the major indexes to confirm a
new bull market, while the S&P 500 ended in positive territory
for the year as expectations for a swift recovery from a
coronavirus-driven downturn increased.
Rising technology and communication stocks have driven gains
in the Nasdaq, which confirmed a new bull market just 16 weeks
after coronavirus fears crushed stocks and pushed the U.S.
economy into recession.
The Nasdaq has climbed 44.7% from its March 23 bottom. A
bull market is confirmed once the index makes a new high and is
considered to have begun at the index's low, according to a
widely accepted definition. The S&P 500 remains about 4.5% below its record high close,
while the Dow is about 6.7% below.
A closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday showed an
unexpected fall in unemployment rate, bolstering views that the
worst of the economic damage from the virus outbreak was over.
"It's optimism surrounding the reopening of the global
economy, and the likely confirmation that the U.S. economy will
experience a V-shaped recovery in the second half," said Sam
Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New
York.
Stocks added to gains late in the session after the U.S.
Federal Reserve eased the terms of its "Main Street" lending
program. The energy sector .SPNY climbed the most among the 11
major S&P sectors, rising 4.3%, as major oil producers agreed
over the weekend to extend a deal on record output cuts.
Beaten-down shares of cruise operators Carnival Corp CCL.N
and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N continued to
recover. The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR jumped 9.9%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 461.46 points,
or 1.7%, to 27,572.44, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 38.46 points,
or 1.20%, to 3,232.39 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
110.66 points, or 1.13%, to 9,924.75.
Investors will also focus this week on the Fed's two-day
policy meeting, ending on Wednesday, where the jobs report will
most likely be discussed.
It would be the first meeting since April when Fed Chair
Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy could feel the weight of the
economic shutdown for more than a year. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
4.61-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.02-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 83 new highs and no new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 16.46 billion shares, compared
to the 12.35 billion average for the full session over the last
20 trading days.