Wall Street’s momentum swings back as stocks, yields tick up | Nation
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ticking higher on Wall Street Tuesday, recovering some of last week’s losses to pull closer to their record highs.
The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in late morning trading and back within 1% of its record set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 114 points, or 0.4%, at 30,928, as of 11:49 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.
Wall Street’s rally is getting back on track after stocks ran out of steam last week. Markets have been rising on enthusiasm about a coming economic recovery as COVID-19 vaccines roll out and Washington gets set to try for another massive round of stimulus for the economy.
Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to be Treasury Secretary, is calling on Congress to do more to boost the economy. In testimony prepared for her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, she said that with interest rates near their record lows, “the smartest thing we can do is act big” to avoid an even worse downturn in the near term and scarring for the economy in the long term.
Biden last week released details of a $1.9 trillion plan to bolster the economy, which would include $1,400 cash payments for most Americans. Democrats are also pushing for an accelerated rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, a higher minimum wage for workers and enhanced benefits for laid-off workers. The hope is that such stimulus can carry the economy until later this year, when more widespread vaccinations get life returning to some semblance of normal.