NEW YORK – After an unpredictable week, Wall Street finished yesterday on a high note, shrugging off concerns about a surge in Covid-19 cases and new restrictions that threaten to slow the US economy.
The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4% to close at 29,479.81.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 1.4% to 3,585.15, a new record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1% to 11,829.29.
“Festering concerns regarding the implications of the persistent surge in new Covid-19 cases also had a hand in the bumpiness this week,” said the Charles Schwab investment bank, adding that “the earnings front continued to paint a positive picture”.
Stocks that would benefit from a resumption of normal trade and travel patterns once a coronavirus vaccine becomes widespread also resumed their upward climb.
Cruise line Carnival Corp surged 7.2%, and Southwest Airlines jumped 4.7%.
But, videoconferencing platform Zoom, which has become popular during the pandemic, fell 5.8%. – AFP, November 14, 2020
