Wall Street’s momentum swings back as stocks, yields tick up | Nation
A woman walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Shares fell Monday across most of Asia following a retreat on Wall Street, but benchmarks in Hong Kong and Shanghai rose after data showed the Chinese economy grew a solid 2.3% in 2020.
People stand near a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Shares fell Monday across most of Asia following a retreat on Wall Street, but benchmarks in Hong Kong and Shanghai rose after data showed the Chinese economy grew a solid 2.3% in 2020.
A man walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Shares fell Monday across most of Asia following a retreat on Wall Street, but benchmarks in Hong Kong and Shanghai rose after data showed the Chinese economy grew a solid 2.3% in 2020.
A woman walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Shares advanced in Asia on Tuesday as the changing of the guard in the U.S. raised hopes for more support for the economy and more aggressive measures to fight the pandemic.
A woman walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Shares advanced in Asia on Tuesday as the changing of the guard in the U.S. raised hopes for more support for the economy and more aggressive measures to fight the pandemic.
People walk past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Shares advanced in Asia on Tuesday as the changing of the guard in the U.S. raised hopes for more support for the economy and more aggressive measures to fight the pandemic.
FILE – In this Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 file photo, people walk by the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks are climbing Tuesday, Jan. 19 recovering some of last week’s losses to pull closer to their record highs. The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in early trading and got back within 1% of its record set earlier this month.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, the logo for Stellantis appears above a post on the trading floor, Tuesday, Jan. 19. 2021. Shares start trading in New York in the new auto giant created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Timothy Nick, left, and a colleague work in a booth on the trading floor, Tuesday, Jan. 19. 2021. Stocks are ticking higher on Wall Street Tuesday, recovering some of last week’s losses to pull closer to their record highs.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Vice Chairman John Tuttle, left, Stellantis CEO Carlos Taveras, center, and Chariman John Elkann, right, virtually ring the NYSE opening bell, Tuesday, Jan. 19. 2021. Stellantis shares start trading in New York in the new auto giant created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot.
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.