U.S. markets decided Monday was a good day to ignore bad news. The Dow Jones soared more than 800 points by the closing bell, rising 1.66% to 49,183.51, while the NASDAQ climbed 0.80% to 23,420.85. The S&P 500 joined the party with a 0.81% gain to 6,913.76.

The rally came even as fresh manufacturing data showed continued weakness in the sector. But apparently investors were in a forgiving mood.

Manufacturing Weakness Continues

The ISM manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.9 in December, recording its third straight monthly decline and hitting the lowest reading since October 2024. That missed both November's reading of 48.2 and market expectations of 48.3. Any reading below 50 signals contraction in the manufacturing sector, and this one wasn't even close.

Sector Performance Shows Sharp Divide

Energy shares powered higher, gaining 2.9% on Monday to lead all sectors. On the flip side, utilities stocks took a beating, dipping 2.2% as investors rotated away from defensive plays.

Big Movers in Individual Stocks

Momentus Inc (MNTS) had itself a day, rocketing 57% to $8.98 after announcing development of an additive-manufactured fuel tank scheduled for flight testing aboard its Vigoride-7 orbital service vehicle.

GH Research PLC (GHRS) surged 17% to $15.43 after the FDA lifted its clinical hold on the company's Investigational New Drug Application for GH001. Getting the FDA to reverse a clinical hold is always good news for biotech stocks.

VerifyMe Inc (VRME) jumped 66% to $1.12 following news that the company and Open World entered into a letter of intent for a strategic merger.

Not everyone celebrated, though. Zenas Biopharma Inc (ZBIO) cratered 57% to $14.94 after announcing results from its Phase 3 INDIGO trial of obexelimab in immunoglobulin G4-related disease. The results apparently didn't impress investors.

Palisade Bio Inc (PALI) slid 16% to $2.10, while Palvella Therapeutics Inc (PVLA) fell 14% to $86.16.

Commodities Rally Across the Board

Oil traded up 1.7% to $58.30, while gold gained 2.9% to reach $4,454.40. But the real star was silver, which surged 7.3% to $76.230. Copper also participated in the party, rising 5.1% to $5.9815.

Global Markets Join the Rally

European shares closed higher across the board. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.94%, Germany's DAX jumped 1.34%, and London's FTSE 100 rose 0.54%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index climbed 0.70%, while France's CAC 40 added a modest 0.20%.

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 led the region with a strong 2.97% gain, while China's Shanghai Composite surged 1.38%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index managed a tiny 0.03% gain, while India's BSE Sensex bucked the trend, falling 0.38%.