Stocks close at new highs after signing of COVID-19 rescue package
U.S. investors cheered the U.S. aid package, restoring some of the optimism that drove global stocks to a record this month even as the pandemic escalated.
U.S. investors cheered the U.S. aid package, restoring some of the optimism that drove global stocks to a record this month even as the pandemic escalated.
A new variant of the coronavirus in the U.K. and a wave of lockdowns and travel restrictions damped global trading, but in the U.S. a stimulus deal kept bigger losses at bay.
In a mixed and muted day of trading, the S&P 500 rose 6.55 points, or 0.2%, to 3,701.17. It’s within roughly 1 point of its record set last week.
Wall Street is growing increasingly confident that Democratic and Republican lawmakers will clinch a bill based on a $748 billion bipartisan proposal that would inject cash directly into the economy as prior benefits begin to expire at the end of the year.
The stock market tumbled through years’ worth of losses in just over a month this spring, only to turn around and pack an entire bull market’s worth of gains into less than nine months.
All major indexes for U.S. equities—the S&P 500, the Dow Jones industrial average, the Russell 2000 and the Nasdaq composite—closed at records. Such synchronized highs were last seen in January 2018.
The proposal filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, if approved, would require all companies listed on the exchange to publicly disclose consistent, transparent diversity statistics about their board of directors.
The turbocharger for the market’s move higher has been a huge dose of hope as pharmaceutical companies come closer to delivering vaccines to a world beaten down by the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York City-based S&P Global announced that it would acquire IHS Markit, based in London, in an all-stock deal.
Trading volumes have been elevated in what is normally a calm week. More than 12 billion shares changed hands on Monday, up 75% from the Monday before last year’s holiday.
The Dow Jones industrial average surpassed its record of 29,551.42 set in February before pandemic panic hit the market.
Initial Public Offering advisers are expecting to see a record amount of listing activity during the period between the U.S. Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Global markets roared Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average soaring to intraday highs not seen since February.
Markets were already sharply higher on the U.S. election result when Pfizer said that research shows vaccine shots may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, indicating the company is on track this month to file an emergency-use application with U.S. regulators.
The S&P 500 rose 1.9%, its fourth straight gain of more than 1%, and is now up 7.4% for the week. That would be its best week since the market was exploding out of the crater created in February and March by panic about the coronavirus pandemic.
Analysts said the gains came as markets saw the upside of political control in Washington, D.C., remaining split between Democrats and Republicans.
The three major U.S. indexes closed out the final trading day of a turbulent October with more losses, capping a wretched week marked by a record surge in coronavirus infections, dashed hopes for an economic rescue deal before the election and renewed fears of a new wave of business disruptions.
The sell-off began two weeks ago but intensified Monday. It has been triggered by a surge in coronavirus cases and the fact that the White House and Democrats are at an impasse over relief talks.
Three major U.S. stock indexes tumbled at least 3.4% on Wednesday as uncertainty about the economy, politics and public health drove investors from the market.
The Columbus-based engine maker’s third-quarter revenue and net income rebounded better from pandemic-related lags than analysts had expected.