Republicans propose more economic stimulus payments for Americans. Democrats previously called for the same. But still unknown is how much and who will get them.The S&P 500 rose 5.46 points to 3,257.30. It was the index’s third straight gain. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 159.53 points, or 0.6%, to 26,840.40. The Nasdaq fell 86.73 points, or 0.8%, to 10,680.36, a day after notching its best day since the end of April and its latest all-time high.
After a 20% drop in the first three months of the year and then a nearly 20% gain in the April-through-June quarter, Wall Street has continued its winning ways so far in July. The S&P 500 has notched a weekly gain the last three weeks as investors cheered improvements in hiring, retail sales and other parts of the economy, along with rising hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine.
The overall S&P 500 index has rallied back to within 3.9% of its February record high and is back to where it was in early June.Still, worries remain that the rise of coronavirus counts across much of the country will derail efforts to reopen businesses that have been shut down to help slow the virus’ spread. That’s why Wall Street is betting on Washington to deliver another trillion-dollar round of economic aid.
Energy companies were by far the biggest gainers among the 11 sectors in the S&P 500, as the price of oil headed higher, an encouraging sign that markets hope economies will continue to recover. Occidental Petroleum leaped nearly 11%, leading all other stocks in the S&P 500. More than a dozen other energy companies also moved sharply higher.
elon & tesla really leadin tho