US STOCKS-Wall Street rallies, led by healthcare jump

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or type
LIVE/ in a news window)
* Abbott jumps on U.S. approval for coronavirus diagnostic
test
* Healthcare sector leads as all 11 sectors higher
* Dow up 3.19%, S&P 500 up 3.35%, Nasdaq up 3.62%

(Updates to market close, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday,
led in part by healthcare stocks as investors looked for shares
that have become cheap and can withstand the impact to the
economy from efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The S&P healthcare sector .SPXHC jumped 4.67%, in part due
to gains in Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N and Abbot Laboratories.
JNJ surged 8.00% on the U.S. government's plans to help fund the
creation of enough manufacturing capacity for its coronavirus
vaccine, currently under development. Abbott Laboratories ABT.N climbed 6.41% after winning U.S.
approval for a diagnostic test for COVID-19.
Along with healthcare, the technology sector .SPLRCT also
rose more than 4% on the day, as Microsoft MSFT.O shares
jumped more than 7%, the biggest boost to the broad S&P 500.
A record $2.2 trillion in aid and policy easing from the
Federal Reserve helped equities recover some of their losses
last week, with the S&P 500 .SPX posting its biggest weekly
percentage gain in over a decade and the Dow Jones .DJI its
best since 1938, even after each dropped more than 3% to end the
trading week on Friday.
Each of Wall Street's three major indexes remain down more
than 20% from the February highs, but investors are now trying
to assess the economic damage and identify which companies will
be on solid footing when the economy begins to accelerate.
"You are looking for a way to re-enter the market on stocks
that are going to give you an opportunity to participate," said
Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New
York.
"You look at some of those and say there is an opportunity
for me to buy good companies with strong balance sheets that on
the other side of this should produce."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 690.7 points,
or 3.19%, to 22,327.48, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 85.18 points,
or 3.35%, to 2,626.65 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
271.77 points, or 3.62%, to 7,774.15.
President Donald Trump followed last week's massive fiscal
stimulus package by extending his stay-at-home guidelines,
leaving investors to await more signs on the next stages of a
deepening economic crisis.
That is convincing few that the worst of the most dramatic
sell-off in a decade is over, and Wall Street's fear gauge
.VIX , which predicts future volatility, is still running as
high as it has been since the 2008 financial crisis.
However, the prospect of more government stimulus has given
investors something to hold on to as they wait for signs of
economic relief. Upcoming data is likely to confirm damage to
the economy, but how much has been priced in by the market
remained to be seen.
JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N said on Saturday it expected
real U.S. gross domestic product to fall 10% in the first
quarter and plunge 25% in the second quarter. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.56-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.67-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and two new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded six new highs and 30 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.19 billion shares, compared
to the 15.81 billion average for the full session over the last
20 trading days.