US open: Stocks push higher after Mnuchin says he expects stimulus deal

(Sharecast News) - Stocks on Wall Street gained some traction on the last trading day of the third quarter on optimism that there was bipartisan support for another fiscal stimulus bill before the 3 November elections.
In remarks to broadcaster CNBC, Steve Mnuchin said he expected to be able to reach an agreement with Democrats.

Together with a raft of better-than-expected readings on the economy, his remarks light a fire under share prices.

Against that backdrop, as of 1620 BST the Dow Jones Industrials was advancing by 1.54% or 423.66 points to 27,882.66, with the S&P 500 up by 1.24% or 41.1 points to 3,376.57 alongside.

Investors thus appeared to throw off their hesitancy following an inconclusive or "unedifying" - in the words of Market.com's Neil Wilson, televised debate between White House hopefuls Donald Trump and Joe Biden overnight.

"We await to see whether the spectacle has had any impact on the up to one in ten voters yet to make up their minds. As grandpa Wilson would have said, I hae ma doots," Wilson said.

Several commentators appeared to echo Wilson's remarks, although on Wednesday morning the national average of voters' polls appeared to have drifted ever so slightly in Trump's favour.

Nevertheless, Real Clear Politics's national average of polls was still showing Biden 6.1 points out ahead of Trump in voters' intentions.

The economic data on Wednesday were unequivocally positive, at least superficially.

In particular, consultancy ADP's payrolls survey showed that private sector firms hired 749,000 people in September.

That was more than the 428,000 gain reported for August and ahead of economists' median forecast for an increase of 650,000.

Similarly, readings for factory sector activity around Chicago for the same month and on pending home sales in August both came in well ahead of market projections.

On the corporate side of things meanwhile, early trial results for Regeneron's monoclonal antibody cocktail showed that it helped to alleviate symptoms in patients with mild-to-moderate cases of Covid-19 more quickly, yet the stock was down by 1.15%.

Also in focus in the companies arena were security outfit Palantir Technologies and software maker Asana, both of which were expected to pursue direct listings on Wednesday.

Overnight, the former set a reference price for its shares of $7.25.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $167.62 2.46%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $201.10 2.19%
American Express Co. (AXP) $99.55 1.84%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $309.29 1.69%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $149.41 1.36%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $51.88 1.35%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $115.54 1.27%
3M Co. (MMM) $161.52 1.07%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $34.64 1.05%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $35.73 0.99%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $124.89 -0.41%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $125.87 -0.38%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $59.17 -0.12%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $146.99 -0.05%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $207.85 0.29%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $82.17 0.33%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $36.30 0.36%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $39.26 0.51%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $138.14 0.64%

S&P 500 - Risers

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $18.12 9.42%
L Brands Inc (LB) $33.01 8.75%
Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) $88.99 7.98%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $2.80 5.66%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $15.90 5.49%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $67.89 5.42%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.82 4.69%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $17.43 4.31%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $6.47 4.19%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $84.63 4.17%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $36.78 -6.46%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $47.69 -5.96%
NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) $275.19 -2.80%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $21.61 -1.12%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $9.13 -1.08%
L3Harris Technologies Inc. (LHX) $173.88 -1.06%
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $384.67 -1.05%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $62.14 -1.00%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $4.13 -0.84%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $335.00 -0.80%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.82 4.69%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $84.63 4.17%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $78.17 4.01%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $73.45 3.48%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $126.40 3.12%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $89.90 2.83%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $429.44 2.47%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $93.25 2.43%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $228.30 2.43%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $86.75 2.30%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $36.78 -6.46%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $47.69 -5.96%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $370.92 -0.82%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $335.00 -0.80%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $49.70 -0.74%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $112.69 -0.73%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $59.22 -0.72%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $321.41 -0.69%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $127.89 -0.57%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $192.70 -0.33%