US: Stocks shake off early weakness to finish higher

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks shook off early weakness and finished higher Monday as fresh Federal Reserve announcements of emergency lending offset revived worries about coronavirus cases.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 25,763.16, up 0.6 per cent after regaining more than 900 points from its session low.

The broad-bases S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent to close at 3,066.59, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.4 per cent to 9,726.02.

The Fed launched its long-awaited Main Street Lending Program to support businesses harmed by coronavirus shutdowns and said it would also begin a highly anticipated program to purchase corporate bonds.

The announcements come a day before Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to kick off two days of congressional testimony.

Markets have been jittery in recent days as more states have seen an uptick in coronavirus cases. Some analysts have largely dismissed the trend as the result of increased testing, but others have expressed fear the elevated cases could slow the reopening of the economy.

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Among individual companies, Shopify jumped 8.4 per cent after Walmart said it was partnering with the company to bolster its online marketplace for third-party sellers. Walmart advanced 0.3 per cent.

Moderna jumped 7.4 per cent following a report Israel is in talks to purchase a coronavirus vaccine the company is developing. Moderna said last week the vaccine will enter the third and final stage of its clinical trial in July.

AFP