U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors were optimistic that at least a partial deal on more U.S. fiscal stimulus may happen.
After abruptly calling off negotiations on a comprehensive bill on Tuesday, President Donald Trump later that day urged Congress to pass a series of smaller, standalone bills that would include a bailout package for the airline industry battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Airline shares jumped, including United Airlines up 4.3%.
Indexes held gains after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its last meeting.
“The only reason we were down yesterday was the tweet from President Trump, which he walked back last night. That’s why the market started off stronger and continued stronger. I think there’s full-blown expectations that some form of stimulus agreement is going to occur sooner than later,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.
Top White House officials downplayed the possibility of more coronavirus relief, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disparaged Trump for backing away from talks on a comprehensive deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 556.7 points, or 2%, to 28,329.46, the S&P 500 gained 61.38 points, or 1.83%, to 3,422.33 and the Nasdaq Composite added 211.55 points, or 1.9%, to 11,366.16.
Focus on Wednesday will also be on a debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, with Trump’s battle with COVID-19 and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s age providing an unusual backdrop.
Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls released on Tuesday showed Biden expanding his lead over Trump in battleground Michigan and the two candidates locked in a toss-up race in North Carolina ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 3.00-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.36-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 38 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 120 new highs and 15 new lows.
(Additional reporting by Devik Jain and Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Cynthia Osterman)
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