NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes jumped on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 on course for its best two-quarter gain since 2009, as investors rekindled bets on an imminent fiscal stimulus package, while upbeat data suggested a domestic economic recovery was on track.

House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed hope for a breakthrough on a Covid-19 relief package as the House stood poised to vote on a new $2.2 trillion Democratic coronavirus bill.

All 11 major S&P indexes were up. Healthcare, consumer discretionary and financials led gains as data showed US private employers stepped up hiring in September, while contracts to buy previously owned homes surged to a record high last month.

At 12:57 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.79%, the S&P 500 was up 1.35%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.24%.

Energy was the only S&P index set to end the quarter in the red, having lost nearly 20% of its value as fears of weak fuel demand hammered oil prices.

On the other hand, the consumer discretionary index, which includes heavyweight Amazon.com Inc, has soared more than 15% since the end of June.

Big banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley, Well Fargo & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc rose between 1.9% and 2.9%, tracking Treasury yields.—