Stocks Hit Session Highs as Big Tech Leads Way: Markets Wrap

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U.S. stocks climbed to the highest in almost six weeks amid a rally in giant technology companies as traders awaited earnings from banks and news on a fresh round of economic stimulus.

The S&P 500 extended gains to session highs as Amazon.com Inc. surged before its Prime Day event while Apple Inc. jumped after its price target was raised by RBC Capital Markets. Twitter Inc. rallied on an upgrade at Deutsche Bank, which also raised its price estimates for other companies that derive their revenue from digital advertising such as Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. Lenders including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. report their results this week. Energy shares fell as oil sank below $40 a barrel. The Treasury market is closed for a U.S. holiday.

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Prospects for another round of fiscal spending remain highly unsettled after President Donald Trump pulled out of talks on Oct. 6, hours after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell urged lawmakers err on the side of doing more rather than less to help the economy heal from Covid-19. The White House subsequently proposed a new $1.8 trillion stimulus package, with Trump himself saying he wanted to go even further. Negotiations with Democrats are expected to continue this week.

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S&P 500 climbs to highest level since early September

“The stimulus stalemate still looms large, though it failed to derail the market,” said Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investment product at E*Trade Financial. “And with high expectations for big-bank earnings kicking off the season, we could get a clearer picture into just how far we’ve come in terms of economic recovery.”

U.S. voters are getting their first close look at Judge Amy Coney Barrett in hearings that began Monday and are all but certain to lead to Trump’s Supreme Court nominee being placed on the high court just days before the election.

Elsewhere, oil slumped with workers in the U.S. Gulf heading back following Hurricane Delta’s landfall and Libya taking a major step toward reopening its biggest field. The offshore yuan sank after China’s central bank took steps to restrain the currency’s rally.

Here are some key events coming up:

Video: Trump raises stimulus offer to $1.8 trillion (CNBC)

Trump raises stimulus offer to $1.8 trillion

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JPMorgan, Citigroup and BlackRock report earnings on Tuesday; results from Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs are due Wednesday; Morgan Stanley’s earnings are scheduled for Thursday.U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson set a deadline of Thursday to thrash out the outline of a European Union trade deal.European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde leads off the virtual annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. Through Oct. 18.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 climbed 1.5% as of 11:29 a.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.6%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.8%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.1%.The euro decreased 0.1% to $1.1813.The British pound was little changed at $1.3039.

Bonds

Germany’s 10-year yield fell two basis points to -0.54%.Britain’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 0.267%.

Commodities

The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 0.2%.West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.8% to $39.47 a barrel.Gold weakened 0.3% to $1,924.35 an ounce.

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