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* Top Democrats back emergency business funds
* U.S. posts record single-day jump in coronavirus deaths
* Energy leads gains among major S&P 500 sectors
* Indexes up: Dow 0.98%, S&P 0.95%, Nasdaq 0.86%
(Updates to open)
By Uday Sampath Kumar
April 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Wednesday on hopes
the coronavirus outbreak in the United States was close to its
peak and expectations that Congress will inject hundreds of
billions more in the battered economy.
President Donald Trump said late on Tuesday the United
States might be getting to the top of the "curve" in relation to
the outbreak, even as New York and several other states posted
their highest number of daily virus-related fatalities.
A peaking in new virus cases is widely considered one of the
first steps that will push markets into a recovery, but such
signals are still tentative and corporate layoffs, cutbacks and
losses show no signs of slowing.
"The stock markets are forward looking, so there's
anticipation that, hopefully sooner rather than later, the death
count will be less than anticipated," said Marc Pfeffer, chief
investment officer at CLS Investments in Westchester County, New
York.
"I'd like to think that the bottom has been put in, but we
can't say for sure. The conversations are now starting to move
towards the reopening of the economy."
The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX is down nearly 20% from its
record high in mid February, despite big gains early this week,
as measures to contain the virus brought the U.S. economy to a
virtual halt.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O and Boeing Co BA.N supplier Spirit
AeroSystems SPR.N became the latest companies to furlough
workers as the pandemic forces the closure of U.S. production
facilities.
Democratic Congressional leaders said on Wednesday they
would back the Trump administration's request for another $250
billion in aid for small businesses.
The package would add to the $2.3 trillion in stimulus
already approved and meant to make up for the wages and incomes
lost after Americans were ordered to stay home.
Early gains on Tuesday were led by the energy index .SPX
as oil companies rose tracking crude prices and risk appetite
was boosted by the prospect of more fiscal stimulus.
At 10:36 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 223.03 points, or 0.98%, at 22,876.89, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 25.20 points, or 0.95%, at 2,684.61 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 67.94 points, or 0.86%, at 7,955.20.
Corporate earnings season starts next week with the major
Wall Street banks, and companies are expected to outline more
drastic measures as they look to bolster dwindling cash
reserves.
Analysts now expect first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 firms
to fall 7.5% compared to a Jan. 1 forecast for a rise of 6.3%.
Shares of UPS UPS.N and FedEx FDX.N rose 3.51% to 6.26%
after Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O said it would suspend its U.S.
shipping service. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 3.29-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.67-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded two new highs and nine new lows.