NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks finished noticeably higher on Monday as concerns over the COVID-19 Omicron variant eased.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 646.95 points, or 1.87 percent, to 35,227.03. The S&P 500 rose 53.24 points, or 1.17 percent, to 4,591.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 139.68 points, or 0.93 percent, to 15,225.15.

All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors rallied, with industrials and consumer staples closing up 1.64 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, leading the gains.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher with eight the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

The above market reactions came as White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci said Sunday that early reports about Omicron cases being relatively mild were "encouraging."

"Though it's too early to really make any definitive statements about it, thus far, it does not look like there's a great degree of severity to it," he said.

Also on Sunday, U.S. health officials said the Omicron variant has been detected in almost one third of U.S. states.

For the week ending Friday, the Dow slipped 0.9 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.2 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. Enditem

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