Solid company earnings and hopes for aid send stocks higher | National
An employee of a bank walks by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Asian shares mostly fell Thursday as caution set in over company earnings reports, recent choppy trading in technology stocks and prospects for more economic stimulus for a world battling a pandemic.
Currency traders watch computer monitors near screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Asian shares mostly fell Thursday as caution set in over company earnings reports, recent choppy trading in technology stocks and prospects for more economic stimulus for a world battling a pandemic.
An employee of a bank watches computer monitors near screens showing the foreign exchange rates at the foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Asian shares mostly fell Thursday as caution set in over company earnings reports, recent choppy trading in technology stocks and prospects for more economic stimulus for a world battling a pandemic.
FILE – In this Nov. 23, 2020 file photo, a street sign is displayed at the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street after more companies reported strong earnings and as hopes continue to build for another round of help for the economy from Washington.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders gather at a post on the floor, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Stocks moved higher in afternoon trading on Thursday, helped by strong company earnings as well as optimism that Washington can reach a deal for another round of fiscal stimulus for the millions of Americans who need it.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders gather at a post on the floor, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Stocks moved higher in afternoon trading on Thursday, helped by strong company earnings as well as optimism that Washington can reach a deal for another round of fiscal stimulus for the millions of Americans who need it.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader John Santiago works on the floor, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. Stocks moved higher in afternoon trading on Thursday, helped by strong company earnings as well as optimism that Washington can reach a deal for another round of fiscal stimulus for the millions of Americans who need it.
A broad rally on Wall Street Thursday added to the market’s solid gains this week and pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite to all-time highs.
Strong company earnings and optimism that Washington can reach a deal for another round of fiscal stimulus for millions of Americans who need it has kept investors in a buying mood this week. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, eclipsing the benchmark index’s last record high set early last week. The three major stock indexes are on track for weekly gains above 3%, an encouraging start to February after a late fade in January.
Financial and technology companies lead the way higher. Small-company stocks also had a strong showing, another bullish signal that investors are feeling more optimistic about the economy.
“The path of least resistance seems to be higher,” said Brian Price, head of investment management for Commonwealth Financial Network. “We had a few minor pullbacks since the start of the year, but it really seems an extension of what we saw in the fourth quarter where it seems the market is anticipating lockdowns ending, people going back to work and economies broadly opening.”
The S&P 500 index rose 41.57 points to 3,871.74. It was the index’s fourth-straight gain. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 332.26 points, or 1.1%, to 31,055.86. The technology-heavy Nasdaq gained 167.20 points, or 1.2%, to 13,777.74, also an all-time high. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks climbed 42.72 points, or 2%, to 2,202.42.
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