Dow Gains as White House Reportedly Ready to Raise Stimulus Offer
By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow climbed on Friday, as stimulus hopes were boosted on reports the White House raised its coronavirus stimulus offer to $1.8 trillion, though that is still short of the Democrat’s $2.2 trillion proposal.
President Donald Trump, however, has greater ambitions.
“I’d like to see a bigger stimulus package than either the Republicans or Democrats are offering,” Trump said on Rush Limbaugh radio show. “I’d like to see money going to people.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.49%, or 140 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.79%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.15%.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to discuss the new $1.8 trillion proposal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when the two speak Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.
Earlier on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said another fiscal package was unlikely in the next three weeks, while Trump hinted talks were progressing.
Reports the White House is raising its offer comes a day after Pelosi rejected the idea of passing standalone aid bills, preferring instead to roll out a broader relief package that would include support for individuals, small businesses and airlines.
Economists have repeatedly highlighted the importance of fiscal aid to keep the recovery intact.
Sectors tied to the progress of the economy advanced. Consumer discretionary was among the biggest gainers, and industrials was propped by up airlines.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) were up nearly 1%, while American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) Group rose more than 1%.
Big tech continued to add to gains, led by a more than 2% rise in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN). Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) rose 1%, while Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) was roughly flat.
Tech was also pushed higher by a rise in chip stocks after strong gains in NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) and Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX), with the latter rallying 13% on reports that Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) was in advanced talks to buy the company.
NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) was up 4% as it lifted quarterly guidance, citing a “material improvement” in demand across all end markets.
Energy proved an exception to the rally, down more 1%, as oil prices fell though are set to end the week sharply higher with weather-related supply disruptions easing demand concerns somewhat.
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