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 U.S. stock indexes book sharp gains Monday, as investors embrace hope of more fiscal stimulus, but await more clarity on the White House race and the state of the economy.
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Hopes for economic help from Washington were reignited over the weekend, enabling Wall Street to ignore several potentially bearish catalysts Monday and send stocks to a wide-ranging rally.
Most concerning might have been the news that Inovio Pharmaceuticals' (INO, -28.3%) COVID-19 vaccine candidate was put in a "partial clinical hold."
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Uncertainty over what we'll hear in the presidential debates, which begin Tuesday night, also might have been considered an overhang given the importance of the 2020 elections to the nation's economic picture.
"The U.S. election is taking place against a historic backdrop of a pandemic, recession and domestic strife," say BlackRock Investment Institute strategists. "The outcome could have significant implications for key policy areas: fiscal stimulus, public investment, taxation, regulation and foreign affairs. It also has the potential to supercharge structural trends such as an increased policy and market focus on sustainability."
But first and foremost on investors' minds was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Sunday revelation that the House is working on a smaller $2.4 trillion stimulus package; she was scheduled to talk to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin today.
Twenty-seven of the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 30 components finished in the black today, including big gainers Boeing (BA, 6.4%) and Dow (DOW, 3.1%), leading the industrial average 1.5% higher to 27,584.
Other action in the stock market today:
The S&P 500 finished up 1.6%
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U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Monday, starting the week on a higher note as investors bought shares of banks, energy companies, as well as materials and industrials firms. Talk of some progress toward a fresh coronavirus aid package, however unlikely to gain much traction on Washington, and bargain hunting by investors betting on happier economic times in the throes of a global viral outbreak, helped to revive some degree of the bullish sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 410 points, or 1.5%, at 27,583, the S&P 500 index finished the session up 1.6% at 3,352, powered by a 2.3% gain in financials and a 2.3% in the energy sector . The Nasdaq Composite Index , meanwhile, closed 1.9% higher at 11,117, retaking a psychological perch above 11,000. All closing numbers are on a preliminary basis. Shares of Citigroup and Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. closed up 2.9% and 3.1%, and 3.5% respectively, helping to lead the charge higher for the economically sensitive banking sector, underscoring some bets for an improved economy by investors and efforts by investors to find value in beaten down sectors that have not enjoyed the run-up in stocks to the same degree as the highflying technology-related and work-from-home shares. Investors are also focused on the looming 2020 presidential election, with a debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden set for Tuesday, which could also influence investment behavior in the short term. Last week, stocks took a hit amid rising concerns of a renewed spread of the novel strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Markets got off to a strong start on Monday partly due to solid economic data out of China, which appeared to overshadow reports of fresh lockdowns and growing cases of COVID-19 in parts of Europe.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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 Shares of Hologic Inc. were up 3.6% in premarket trading on Monday after the company said it had received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for a diagnostic test specifically aimed at people with asymptomatic COVID-19 infections. Hologic said it is the first company to offer a test screening asymptomatic individuals. This test, which is also authorized to test symptomatic people for COVID-19 infections, originally received authorization in March. Hologic's stock is up 23.2% this year, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.1%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
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 Here's how the stock market tends to perform after the first presidential debate
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Virgin Galactic stock rallies to its best in eight weeks after two analysts start covering it with a buy rating, praising the company's business model and demand potential for space tourism.
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 Dow futures jump 350 points as stocks look to get the week off to a solid start
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