U.S. stocks rebound strongly as trade worries ease

NEW YORK, March 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks surged on Monday as worries about trade tensions between the United States and China appear to ease.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 669.40 points, or 2.84 percent, to 24,202.60. The S&P 500 increased 70.29 points, or 2.72 percent, to 2,658.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 227.88 points, or 3.26 percent, to 7,220.54.

On Friday, U.S. stocks slumped for a second straight session, with the Nasdaq plunging over 2.4 percent, as investor sentiment was dented by U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs on imported products from China.

On Saturday, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had a phone conversation with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, urging concerted efforts to maintain the stability of China-U.S. trade ties.

Liu expressed the hope that the two sides will stay rational and work together to maintain the overall stability of their economic and trade relations.

After the conversation, Mnuchin said on Sunday that he was "cautiously hopeful" an agreement can be reached with China, according to Fox News.

Analysts said that global trade tensions are expected to remain front and center for investors in what will be a holiday-shortened week, with markets scheduled to close in observance of Good Friday.

On the economic front, led by improvements in production-related indicators, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose from 0.02 in January to 0.88 in February, beating market consensus. Enditem