Regime change, stimulus hopes boost US stocks

NEW YORK: US stocks rebounded early Tuesday after the three-day holiday weekend, boosted by the proximity of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration and prospects for a big spending package to boost the economy.

After a down week, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 percent at 30,940.39, about an hour into the first session of the week.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent to 3,788.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.7 percent to 13,096.47.

The gains also came as major banks reported earnings, but with mixed results amid the pandemic.

But Patrick J O'Hare of Briefing.com also pointed to the absence of bad news in the final days of outgoing President Donald Trump's tumultuous administration.

"There weren't any jarring 'events' over the extended weekend. That has relieved a little bit of Friday's selling pressure," he said in an analysis.

In addition, he said, "market participants also appear to be heartened by Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen's belief that the US needs to 'act big' with its coronavirus stimulus response."

Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chair, is speaking at her confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee, and urging legislators to support Biden's massive $1.9 trillion rescue package to help the pandemic-damaged US economy.

In individual stocks, shares of Goldman Sachs fell 1.6 percent after reporting a massive 153 percent surge in profits in the final quarter of the year.

Bank of America slipped 1.1 percent after reporting that profits fell, and revenues fell short of expectations.