Wall Street rallies on signs of economic rebound beyond US protests and pandemic

New York  — Wall Street rallied broadly on Wednesday as signs of an economic recovery from mandated shutdowns helped investors look beyond US social unrest and pandemic worries.

Financials, industrials and tech stocks pushed the three major US bourses well into the black. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each posted their fourth straight day of solid gains.

The Nasdaq, the S&P 500 and the Dow have rebounded sharply from March lows hit as coronavirus-related lockdowns shocked the stock market, and they are now 1.4%, 7.8%, and 11.1%, respectively, away from overtaking all-time closing highs set in February.

The Nasdaq 100 is now just over 0.1% below its February record, having briefly breached that level late in the session.

“There is growing confidence the US economy can safely reopen, much as other economies such as China and Italy have successfully done,” said Lenox Wealth Advisors CIO David Carter. “Risk appetite for equities has been helped by optimism in the economy, as well as investors having few other alternatives.”

Nationwide protests over the death of an unarmed black man in police custody extended to an eighth night as protesters ignored curfews, but violence subsided after President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military.

A spate of grim economic data was not as bad as economists feared, with ADP reporting many fewer private-sector job cuts in May than expected.

Market participants now await the US labour department’s more comprehensive May jobs report, which is expected to show unemployment soaring to a historic 19.7%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 527.24 points, or 2.05%, to 26,269.89, the S&P 500 gained 42.05 points, or 1.36%, to 3,122.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 74.54 points, or 0.78%, to 9,682.91.

Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but health care closed in positive territory, with industrials and financials enjoying the biggest percentage gains.

Boeing gave the biggest boost to the blue-chip Dow, its shares rising 12.9% following news that billionaire investor Daniel Loeb’s Third Point had taken a stake in the company.

Lyft jumped 8.7% after the ride-sharing platform reported rides increased 26% in May.