Wall Street Close: Stocks continued to recover despite likely expiration of relief funds for US citizens

• Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 160.29 points, or 0.61%, to 26,539.57.
• S&P 500 added 40.0points, or 1.24%, to 3,258.45.
• Nasdaq Composite put on 140.85 points, o1.35%, to 10,542.94.  

US stocks added to their recoveries on Wednesday on a session that provided the long-anticipated Federal Reserve interest meeting with a decision to keep interest rates at ultra-low levels.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 160.29 points, or 0.61%, to 26,539.57; the S&P 500 added 40.0points, or 1.24%, to 3,258.45; and the Nasdaq Composite put on 140.85 points, o1.35%, to 10,542.94.  

“We have seen some signs in recent weeks that the increase in virus cases and the renewed measures to control it are starting to weigh on economic activity,” Fed ChaJerome Powell said during the press conference.

Fed Chair Powell said the central bank will sustain historic monetary policy until it’s confident the economy has navigated through the Covid-19 pullback.

“We are committed to using our full range of tools to support the economy in this challenging time,” Powell said. “We have held our policy rate near zero since mid-March and have stated that we will keep it there until we are confident the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve our maximum employment and price stability goals.”

Meanwhile, Congress is the next major risk and it appears that they are nowhere near agreed on how to continue its own support for the economy.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration and Democrats in Congress were still “far apart” on a new coronavirus relief bill.

Looking ahead, today’s release of US Q2 GDP for the New York session will provide concrete evidence on how the pandemic has affected activity and the magnitude of the output gap that needs to be closed. US Q2 GDP is forecast to fall by a record 35% saar, roughly equating to a 9% QoQ drop.

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