Dow Climbs as Lawmakers to Meet in Final Push for Stimulus Deal

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com - The Dow climbed Tuesday as lawmakers appear to be closing in on an agreement on a new stimulus deal needed to prop up the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.09%, or 325 points. The S&P 500 was up 1.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.09%.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly invited key congressional leaders including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to a meeting on Tuesday in a bid to reach an agreement on a stimulus and spending plan, Politico reported.

Lawmakers on Monday unveiled a plan to split the $908 billion stimulus bill into two parts: a $748 billion proposal that has bipartisan support including aid for vaccine distribution and unemployed benefits, and the other, a $160 billion bill for state and local support and temporary Covid-19 liability protection.

As well as progress on stimulus, another bout of positive vaccine news stoked investor hopes for risk assets.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday confirmed that Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)'s coronavirus vaccine was 94.1% effective, with "no specific safety concerns," teeing up the drug for emergency authorization, expected later this week.

Elsewhere in health care, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) said it had reached a deal to acquire Prevail Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRVL) in a deal worth about $1 billion, sending the latter's shares up more than 80%.

Still, investors appear cautious somewhat as utilities, a defensive corner of the market, led the broader market higher.

Technology stocks were not far behind, however, as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) racked up gains on signs of strong demand for its latest batch of iPhones after a report suggested the tech giant will ramp-up production of its phones to 96 million for the first half 2021, up 30% from the same period last year.

"While the Street is forecasting roughly 215 million iPhone units for FY21, we believe based on the current trajectory and in a bull case Cupertino has potential to sell north of 240 million units which would eclipse the previous Apple record of 231 million units sold in FY15," Wedbush said in a note.

In other news, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) surged 13% after Reuters reported the company is weighing up whether to manufacture its own electric vehicles.

There was no joy for recent IPO stocks Airbnb and Doordash, down 5% and 2%, respectively, despite the sea of green on Wall Street.

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