[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks rocketed higher again on Wednesday with the Nasdaq ending above 12,000 for the first time as investors shrugged off disappointing employment data and a cautious Federal Reserve report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.6 per cent at 29,100.50.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq again ended with fresh records, with the S&P winning 1.5 per cent to close at 3,580.84 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advancing 1.0 per cent to 12,056.44, its fourth straight record.

The surge came despite disappointing hiring data from private payrolls firm ADP and a tepid assessment of US economic conditions from the Federal Reserve.

The Fed noted "rising instances of furloughed workers being laid off permanently as demand remained soft," especially in the hard-hit services industries.

Home and vehicle sales were strong but "many districts noted a slowing pace of growth in these areas, and total spending was still far below pre-pandemic levels," the Fed said in its beige book survey of economic conditions.

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But countering those features, analysts have attributed the surge to positive market momentum and investors' "fear of missing out" on further gains.

Other factors behind the surge include optimism about coronavirus therapeutics and vaccines and broad confidence that Washington will eventually reach a deal on fiscal stimulus "although that's getting frustratingly slow," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities.

AFP