Stocks rebound from morning dive over rising coronavirus cases

Stocks rebounded from a sharp opening dip Monday to finish with slight gains as the market set aside concerns driven by surging coronavirus cases in several states.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with a gain of 157 points Monday after falling roughly 650 points after opening for trading. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite also sprang back to finish with 0.8 percent and 1.43 percent higher, respectively.

A sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in several states across the Sun Belt — including Texas, Florida, California and Arizona — are forcing local officials to reconsider whether they can continue to loosen restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the virus.

In all, 20 states confirmed more coronavirus cases in the last week than in the week prior, while 10 states have recorded their highest-ever single-day counts in the past week, according to an analysis by The Hill.

The rise in COVID-19 cases may not only halt progress toward reopening the economy but force several states and cities to reimpose some restrictions, posing a devastating blow to recovering from the recession.

The U.S. added 2.5 million jobs in May, according to the Labor Department, stunning economists who had projected another loss of millions of jobs. The gain was driven primarily by the return of 2.7 million workers from furloughs, but 13.3 percent of Americans seeking jobs remain unemployed.