By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - The Dow continued its advance after turning positive earlier in the session Tuesday as investors digested reports that Trump wants the payroll tax cuts to be delivered during the U.S. November election to boost his chances of reelection.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 684 points, or 2.9%, from a low of about 160 points, though had been up more than 1,000 points earlier. The S&P 500 added 2.6%, Nasdaq Composite gained 3%.
Donald Trump reportedly told Republican senators on Tuesday that he wants a payroll tax holiday through the November election so that taxes won’t go back up before voters decide whether to return him to office, Bloomberg reported, citing three people familiar with the president’s remarks.
The announced arrived in a day filled with stimulus pledges to support the economy and combat the coronavirus from the White House.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said insurance companies would cover coronavirus treatment, but the broader market remained under pressure as the spread of the virus continued.
"All the insurance companies here, either today or before today, have agreed to waive all co-pays on coronavirus testing and coronavirus treatment in their benefit plans,” Pence said. "Medicare and Medicaid already made it clear to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries that coronavirus would be covered and treatment."
The announcement delivered a slight boost to markets, but with sentiment on stocks still likely to driven by the latest virus headlines, investor worries about it becoming a global pandemic lurked in the background.
The uptick in risk assets, however, was led by technology as investors piled into beaten up FANG stocks, with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) rising more than 3%.
A rebound in Treasury yields from a historic day on Monday, when the 10-year Treasury yield fell to its lowest level ever, spurred a rally in financial, mostly banking stocks, which are vulnerable to a lower interest rate environment.
The Trump administration reportedly is also mulling plans to launch federal assistance to struggling oil and gas producers, the Washington Post reported. The federal assistance is likely to include low-interest government loans to the shale companies, which have seen credit lines dry up, the report added.
Energy stocks, which hit a 52-week low earlier today, however, remained under pressure.