On Tuesday, shares on Wall Street climbed due to growing optimism that talks were progressing amongst U.S. lawmakers about a U.S stimulus package that would cushion the economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nancy Pelosi, House of Representatives Speaker said that she was optimistic that the Democrats and the White House would reach a deal that could get financial aid out as early as next month. She also said that there should be a clear indication of a possible agreement by the end of Tuesday. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Pelosi will also talk on Tuesday. However, investment strategists don’t believe that a full stimulus package would pass.
There is a huge gap between $2.3 trillion and $1.8 billion and they believe it would be tough to bridge this gap. However, a deal would get people through the presidential elections or till December. By that time, a comprehensive package might be introduced. Wall Street’s primarily indexes were under pressure due to uncertainty about the coronavirus aid package on Monday and according to analysts, market turbulence is only going to increase with just two weeks before the U.S. presidential elections scheduled on November 3rd. As per the results of the latest polls, the Democratic candidate Joe Biden is expected to win.
However, the contest seems to be a lot closer in swing states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida, which usually decide elections. Meanwhile, an antitrust lawsuit was filed by 11 states and the U.S. Justice Department against Alphabet Inc.’s Google for using its market power to fight off its rivals, thereby breaking the law. There was a 2.4% increase in the Alphabet’s shares. Experts said that it was a little late in coming. Google already holds a monopolistic position and they have invested billions in infrastructure, software, technologies talent, AI, and engineering. A decade of significant progress cannot be eliminated or tech ecosystems and alternative powerhouses cannot be conjured out of thin air.
During mid-afternoon trading, the S&P 500 index climbed by 1.13% or 38.65 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 1.01% or 285.28 points and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1% or 114.73 points. Meanwhile, the third-quarter earnings session has increased in momentum. A total of 66 S&P 500 companies have reported their quarterly results so far and nearly 86.4% of them have done better than expected. Casualty and property insurer Travelers Cos Inc climbed by 4% as it beat its expectations of quarterly profits.
There was a 0.6% increase in consumer products manufacturer Proctor & Gamble, as it raised its full-year earnings and sale forecasts. Just ahead of its third-quarter earnings report, Netflix shares remained flat. On Monday, International Business Machines Corp moved past its estimates for quarterly earnings, which was bolstered by a boost in demand for the company’s cloud services. However, their shares declined by 5.8%, after they didn’t issue an outlook for the current quarter, citing economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus. There were 25 52-week highs on the S&P 500 and 1 new low.