Wall Street coasts to a comfortable close

4:10pm: Bitcoin shakes off rough weekend The Dow closed Monday up 186 points, 0.5%, at 34,394. The Nasdaq gained 190 points, 1.4%, to 13,661, and the S&P 500 added 41 points, 1%, to 4,197. Bitcoin made big gains after dropping down to lower than $32,000 over the weekend. The coin traded at $39,566 at around market close.  12:10pm: Tech stocks lead broadly positive day The Dow was up 185 points, 0.5%, to 34,393 at midday. The Nasdaq gained 208 points, 1.6%, to 13,679, and the S&P 500 increased 44 points, 1%, to 4,200. "Tech stocks have rediscovered some of their momentum today, and with recent positioning data pointing to a notable surge in outflows, it seems that sentiment has been sufficiently reset on the sector to allow a new leg higher to begin," IG Chief Market Analyst Chris Beauchamp wrote. Among them, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares gained nearly 3% to $325.41. 10am: Proactive North America headlines: Recruiter.com Group Inc (OTCQB:RCRT) announces that background check company, KarmaCheck has joined its roster of partner companies Power REIT (NYSEAMERICAN:PW) buys 35-acre Colorado property for cannabis cultivation and processing through a subsidiary Roth Capital ups target price for Silvercorp Metals (TSE:SVM) (NYSEAMERICAN:SVM) (FRA:S9Y), to $9.00, reiterates 'Buy' rating following recent Q4 results BioLargo Inc (OTCQB:BLGO) strengthens balance sheet by eliminating nearly all of its convertible debt Esports Entertainment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GMBL) (FRA:40Y1) says New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement formally accepts subsidiary GMBL’s gaming license application Dalrada Corporation (OTCQB:DFCO) taps Captain David Bacon to its board as it advances its health product lines 9.36am: Wall Street starts higher The main indices on Wall Street have made a positive start to the week by moving into the green in early deals. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.49% at 34,376 while the S&P 500 jumped 0.67% to 4,183 and the Nasdaq rose 0.77% to 13,574. Also in positive territory was cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which despite heavy losses over the weekend had bounced back on Monday and was up 16.2% in the last 24 hours at US$38,136. 7:55am: Wall Street to head higher The good times look set to continue on Wall Street on Monday, with the major indices expected to open higher despite lingering doubts over inflation trends. Spread betting quotes indicate the Dow Jones will open 130 points higher at 34,337 while the S&P 500 is expected to rise 19 points to 4,175. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is seen advancing 80 points to 13,491. In other news, investors may be keeping an eye on the ongoing rout in the crypto markets after last week’s implosion sent the prices of digital currencies plunging. ’Bitcoin has been blessed with a bit of Monday motivation, creeping back up after a big dose of the Sunday blues which saw the cryptocurrency fall to just above 31 thousand dollars,” observed Susannah Streeter at Hargreaves Lansdown. Bitcoin is up a cool US$2,695 (8.0%) at US$36,486 today. “Its value more than halved compared to the high it reached above $63,000 in mid-April but since yesterday’s low, it’s risen by around 17%, marking yet another sharp twist in its highly volatile journey. “The crackdown in China is intensifying with cryptocurrency mining the latest target. The suspension of operations of major players sent shudders through the market with bulging crypto wallets becoming distinctly thinner as other cryptos like Ethereum, Dogecoin and Binance Coin also fell sharply in value,” Streeter said. “Crypto holders who are hoping for a bounce back from the initial sharp fall last Wednesday have been left sorely disappointed. "It’s become clear Beijing’s stance isn’t a one-off warning but the beginnings of a serious attempt to limit the decentralised power of cryptocurrencies,” she added. Drugs giant Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) is likely to be in focus when trading starts after it revealed it has enrolled volunteers in a study of the company's COVID-19 booster jab along with its 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Three things to watch for on Monday: Companies in the earnings diary at the start of the week include HR and admin services firm Insperity Inc (NYSE:NSP), genomics specialist Zymergen Inc (NYSE:ZY) and electric vehicle maker Lordstown Motors Corp (NASDAQ:RIDE) Shares in oil firms Cabot Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE:COG) and Cimarex Energy Co (NYSE:XEC) will be in focus after the two groups agreed a US$17bn merger deal On the macro front, the latest Chicago Fed national activity index may garner interest as well as speeches from a number of Fed representatives