Wall Street shoots higher with focus on stimulus

(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 19, 2020 the Charging Bull, sometimes referred to as the Wall Street Bull, a bronze sculpture in the Financial District of Manhattan with a facemask in New York. TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP

NEW YORK (AFP) — US stocks opened choppy but shot higher in early trading amid a wave of positive talk from Washington policymakers about progress on a rescue package to aid the US economy.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading up 0.4 percent at 28,413.28 about an hour into the session.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to 3,459.08 while the tech-rich Nasdaq rose 0.6 percent to 11,580.81.

Ahead of the open, markets seemed perturbed by cycles of progress and setbacks in the stimulus negotiations, but President Donald Trump’s administration sent three top officials to speak on three different TV networks Wednesday morning to tout what they called progress made toward a deal.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin still have differences but are narrowing the gap.

“I am optimistic,” he said on Fox Business Network. “We do share one goal and that is hopefully to get some kind of deal in the next 48 hours or so.”

In a letter to Democratic lawmakers late Tuesday, Pelosi said “both sides are serious about finding a compromise.”

After months of talks on new measures to boost the virus-damaged US economy, the comments boost chances of reaching a deal before the November 3 presidential election.

However, the timing for congressional approval remains unclear given the legislative process and concern among Senate Republicans over the $2 trillion price tag.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick J O’Hare said markets are tired of the stimulus talks “or at least it is tired of all the teasing of a possible deal soon.”

And with big differences remaining between the sides “it hard to believe that either side is going to cave on their respective positions just weeks in front of the election.”

Added to the crush of quarterly earnings reports, “It’s little wonder that the stock market has been a bit of a hot mess so far this week,” he said in his analysis.

The only data released Tuesday was home mortgage applications, which declined 0.6 percent in the latest week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Netflix shares fell 6.4 percent after a disappointing tally of new subscribers, but Snap surged almost 30 percent after a surprise jump in profits.

Dow-member Verizon was flat after a mixed earnings report that nonetheless topped expectations.