US stocks gain as White House warms to further stimulus measures
- US stocks moved higher Friday on continued hope that fiscal stimulus negotiations would lead to a deal prior to the election.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin are set to talk today amid continued stimulus negotiations.
- The resumption in stimulus talks comes after President Donald Trump reversed his view of no deal and instead now favors a large stimulus deal, according to reports.
- Another round of fiscal stimulus would likely include direct payments to Americans as well as aid to the airline industry, among other things.
- Watch major indexes update live here.
US stocks climbed on Friday after the White House signaled that it is indeed interested in passing a comprehensive fiscal stimulus deal prior to the upcoming November elections, according to reports.
The move comes after Trump called off stimulus negotiations via tweet earlier in the week and instead called for a skinny version of stimulus that would have included aid to the airline industry and direct payments to Americans.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin are set to resume talks on a potential stimulus package later on Friday.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET market open on Friday:
- S&P 500: 3,465.16, up 0.5%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 28,517.08, up 0.3% (92 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 11,512.66, up 0.8%
A report from the Wall Street Journal that AMD was in advanced talks to acquire Xilinx helped boost technology stocks on Friday. Xilinx surged as much as 17% on the news.
The economic recovery in the U.K. is showing signs of slowing after it reported August GDP growth of 2.1%, well below the expectations of 4.6%.
Goldman Sachs upgraded General Electric to "buy" and set a $10 price target on the potential of a COVID-19 vaccine boosting its aviation business.
Gold rose as much as 1.5%, to $1,923.03 per ounce.
Oil traded lower. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 1.3%, to $40.65 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell 1.1%, to $42.85 per barrel, at intraday lows.