Oct. 22 (UPI) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 150 points Thursday as markets continued to rise and fall in step with ongoing negotiations in Congress over a new COVID-19 stimulus package.
The blue-chip index ended the day up 152.84 points, or 0.54%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.52% and Nasdaq Composite increased 0.19% as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a deal on the latest stimulus package was “just about here” amid ongoing negotiations with the White House.
“If we were not making progress, I wouldn’t spend five seconds in these conversations,” Pelosi said. “This is not anything other than I think a serious attempt. I do believe that both sides want to reach an agreement.”
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday, however, declined to say if he would seek to force a vote on a stimulus package before November’s election.
Bank stocks helped to lead the market rise as the 10-year Treasury yield reached a four-month high.
JPMorgan Chase stock climbed 3.53%, Morgan Stanley increased 2.78% and Citigroup gained 2.2%.
Third-quarter earnings reports from major companies also began to file in on Thursday as AT&T stock gained 5.84%, Coca-Cola grew 1.36% and Tesla stock increased 0.75% after each reported better than expected profits.
the Labor Department on Thursday also reported that 787,000 new workers filed unemployment claims for the week ending Oct. 17, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week, the lowest figure since March.
