Stocks rise on Monday, reversing selloff

U.S. stocks moved sharply higher Monday morning as the market rapidly changes course once again. Internet and media companies are rising, as well as companies that make and sell consumer goods. Technology companies are also climbing, with software company Red Hat surging after IBM agreed to buy it for $34 billion in stock.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 234 points, or 0.9 percent, to 24,922 as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern Time. The S&P 500 index climbed 1.4 percent, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.2 percent.

Stocks have plunged since early October and trading has been especially volatile the last few days. The S&P 500 surged on Thursday, then gave up virtually all of those gains Friday before climbing again Monday. The S&P 500 is down 7.6 percent this month, which would be its worst monthly loss since May 2010.

Shares of Red Hat, an open-source software company, soared 47.8 percent to $172.42 after IBM announced plans to buy it for $34 billion. IBM said the purchase, its biggest deal ever, will help the company take the next step in cloud computing. Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty said the deal will make IBM the world’s biggest hybrid cloud provider, meaning it will offer companies a mix of on-site, private and third-party public cloud services. IBM fell 1.5 percent to $122.94.

Earlier on Monday, stocks in Europe also turned sharply higher. Italy’s main stock index rallied after Standard & Poor’s did not lower the country’s credit rating.

German stocks rose even though longtime German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she won’t run for another term in 2021. She has been chancellor of Germany for 18 years. The Bovespa in Brazil climbed after far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro was elected president.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.10 percent from 3.07 percent.