Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors glimpsed signs that the economy had bottomed, coronavirus infections are waning, more government aid is likely, and President Donald Trump’s move to quell riots in D.C. may have stemmed the civic unrest around the country.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 527 points, or 2.05 percent. The S&P 500 moved up 1.36 percent, its fourth day of gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.78 percent, climbing within two percent of the all-time high hit in February.
All 11 sectors of the S&P were up. Industrials and financials were the best performing sector, rising by 3.91 percent and 3.83 percent respectively. Communications services and consumer staples were the worst, rising by just one-fifth of a percent.
The top gainer on the Dow was Boeing, followed by American Express, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Exxon Mobil. Home Depot, Walmart, Intel, and United Health were the only Dow stocks to lose for the day.