By Jan 19 Reuters Wall Streets main indexes rose on Tuesday as U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen advocated for a hefty fiscal relief package before lawmakers to help the worlds largest economy ride out a pandemicdriven slump.
At her confirmation hearing, Yellen said the benefits of a big package outweigh the costs of a higher debt burden.
Presidentelect Joe Biden, who will be sworn into office on Wednesday, outlined a 1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal last week to jumpstart the economy and accelerate the distribution of vaccines.
Today its really all about Janet Yellen, and the push that she is taking for stimulus, said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta, adding that the focus on stimulus sets an underpinning for the markets to continue to move higher.
With earnings season underway, Bank of America initially rose as it also topped fourthquarter profit estimates and joined JPMorgan, Citigroup Inc and Wells Fargo Co in releasing some cash reserves to cover for coronavirusdriven loan losses, underscoring its confidence in the economy. The stock pared gains however and was last about flat.
Big U.S. bank Goldman Sachs Group Incs fourthquarter profit more than doubled, dwarfing estimates after another blowout performance at its trading and underwriting business, but its shares also gave up early gains.
Wall Streets main indexes rallied to record highs recently on hopes of a speedy economic recovery fueled by a hefty…
