Wall Street ticks up, adding a bit more to S&P 500’s record

Investors still seem to believe that Congress and the White House will reach a deal to deliver more aid to the economy after federal unemployment benefits and other stimulus expired. Democrats and Republicans have been stuck at an impasse and sniping back and forth, but a GOP senator said Tuesday that Senate Republican leaders are preparing a slimmed-down coronavirus relief package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also told fellow Democrats she’d continue seeking a broader economic relief bill.

Beyond Capitol Hill, investors are also waiting for more developments on the rising tensions between the United States and China. The world’s largest economies have longstanding trade issues, and President Donald Trump has recently been targeting Chinese tech companies in particular. Trump said Tuesday that he postponed trade talks with China scheduled for last weekend because “I don’t want to deal with them right now.”

Also hanging over the market is the upcoming U.S. election, with the big changes in tax and other policies that it can create. Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden late Tuesday to run against Trump for the White House in November’s election.

Earnings reporting season for big U.S companies has nearly wrapped up, with businesses in the S&P 500 on track to report a sharp decline in their profits for the spring, but not as bad as Wall Street expected. More than 93% of the earnings reports are in, and the index is on pace for a roughly 33% drop from the prior year.

Target jumped 11.6% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after it reported results for the spring that easily beat Wall Street’s expectations.

But TJX, the operator of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, slumped 6% after its results fell short of analysts’ forecasts.

Apple continued its run of dominance and rose 1.2%. Earlier in the day, its total market value topped $2 trillion, the first time a U.S. company has crossed that threshold. Apple’s stock has soared nearly 60% this year, despite the pandemic, as loyal customers snap up its products even if they can’t go to a store to test them out.

Later in the afternoon, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes from its last policy meeting. The central bank has been one of the pillars propping up the market after it slashed short-term interest rates to their record low and essentially promised to buy as many bonds as it takes to keep markets running smoothly.

The economy is showing some signs of improvement, but not enough to get the Fed to pull back on its aid for the economy. At least, that’s the fervent hope for investors, because low interest rates can act like rocket fuel for markets.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 0.66% from 0.67% late Tuesday.

In European stock markets, the German DAX returned 0.7%. The French CAC 40 rose 0.8%, and the FTSE 100 in London added 0.6%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.3%, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.5%. Stocks in Shanghai slumped 1.2%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.7%.

Benchmark U.S. crude edged up 0.1% to $43.15 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 0.2% to $45.38 per barrel.

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AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Stan Choe, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Wall Street ticks up, adding a bit more to S&P 500’s record

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