NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq climbed on Wednesday, lifted by heavyweight Alphabet Inc’s shares after its strong results, while investors counted on more fiscal stimulus to ride out the economic downturn.

Alphabet Inc jumped 7% as it benefited from lockdowns that drove retail and other advertisers online.

The Google owner’s shares pushed the communication services index 2.2% higher to an all-time high. Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were in the positive territory.

About 83% of reports from S&P 500 companies so far have surpassed analysts’ earnings expectations, with 97% of results from technology companies beating, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Wall Street’s main indexes finished sharply higher for a second straight day on Tuesday in a broad-based rally as market participants digested talks over the next round of stimulus.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday will meet congressional Democrats preparing to advance his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan despite Republican pushback.

At 10:03 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 gained 13.23 points, or 0.35 %, to 3,839.54 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 98.05 points, or 0.72 %, to 13,710.83.—Reuters