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By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street rallied broadly on
Wednesday with the Nasdaq approaching record highs as signs of
an economic recovery from mandated shutdowns helped investors
look beyond U.S. social unrest and pandemic worries.
Financials, industrials and tech pushed the three major U.S.
stock indexes well into the black. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq
each posted their fourth straight day of solid gains.
The Nasdaq, the S&P 500 and the Dow have rebounded sharply
from their troughs hit in late March, when coronavirus-related
lockdowns shocked the stock market.
"There is growing confidence the U.S. economy can safely
re-open, much as other economies such as China and Italy have
successfully done," said David Carter, chief investment officer
at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York. "Risk appetite for
equities has been helped by optimism in the economy, as well as
investors having few other alternatives."
Nationwide protests over the death of an unarmed black man
in police custody extended through their eighth night as
protesters ignored curfews, but violence subsided after
President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military.
A spate of grim economic data was not as bad as economists
feared, with ADP reporting many fewer private-sector job cuts in
May than expected. "It never feels quite right to pop the champagne over
economic data that is 'less bad,'" Carter added. "But it does
support the idea that momentum is shifting in a more positive
direction sooner than expected."
Market participants now await the U.S. Labor Department's
more comprehensive May jobs report, which is expected to show
unemployment soaring to a historic 19.7%.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
2.06% to end at 26,272.27 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 1.36% to 3,122.81.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC climbed 0.76% to 9,681.11.
Boeing Co BA.N gave the biggest boost to the blue-chip Dow
following news that billionaire investor Daniel Loeb's Third
Point had taken a stake in the company. Lyft Inc LYFT.O jumped after the ride-sharing platform
reported rides increased 26% in May. Microchip Technology Inc MCHP.O surged after the chipmaker
raised its forecast for current-quarter sales and profit.
Teleconferencing firm Zoom Communications Inc ZM.O
advanced after it nearly doubled its annual sales expectations.
Cosmetics maker Coty Inc's COTY.N gained after announcing
it was in talks to collaborate on a beauty line with reality TV
star Kim Kardashian West. Campbell Soup Co's CPB.N beat earnings expectations and
hiked its full-year forecast, but troubles meeting surging
consumer demand sent its shares lower. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Nasdaq closes in on record high https://tmsnrt.rs/3cpZvbK
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