US markets end higher on Wednesday

31 Dec 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday as traders made another attempt at window dressing going into the end of the year after profit taking set in following an early advance on Tuesday. Reports that U.K. regulators have approved a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca (AZN) and the University of Oxford for emergency use also generated some positive sentiment. However, the upcoming New Year’s Day holiday on Friday kept overall trading activity relatively subdued. Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington, as lawmakers haggle over increasing stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., blocked Democratic efforts to fast-track a House approved measure to increase the size of the checks. McConnell has instead proposed a bill that would tie the bigger stimulus checks to the repeal of a provision that protects social media platforms and the creation of an election fraud commission. On the economic data front, the National Association of Realtors released a report showing a continued decrease in US pending home sales in the month of November. NAR said its pending home sales index slid 2.6 percent to 125.7 in November after falling by 0.9 percent to 129.1 in October. Street had expected pending home sales to come in unchanged.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73.89 points or 0.24 percent to 30,409.56, Nasdaq gained 19.78 points or 0.15 percent to 12,870 and S&P 500 was up by 5 points or 0.13 percent 3,732.04.

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