Dow extends gains, ends up over 300 points, after Biden announces infrastructure deal

MW Dow extends gains, ends up over 300 points, after Biden announces infrastructure deal

By William Watts

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended sharply higher Thursday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite finished in record territory, after President Joe Biden said he had reached a deal with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on an infrastructure plan.

What did major indexes do?

What drove the market?

"We have a deal," Biden told reporters outside the White House after hosting an Oval Office meeting with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators who had put together a framework for an agreement.

The blue-chip Dow pushed to a new session high after Biden's remarks, while the S&P 500 industrials and materials sectors, seen sensitive to increased infrastructure spending, also added to gains.

"Investors liked what they saw, and stocks moved higher on the news, although the proof will be in the pudding, if the full House and Senate are able to get it across the finish line and the president can sign it into law," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, in emailed comments.

Read:Here's what's in the infrastructure deal agreed to by Biden and senators

An agreement in principle before lawmakers departed for the July 4 break had been seen as a possibility, "but as long as the package sits in the summer sun, the more it will attract opposition," said Greg Valliere, chief U.S. policy strategist at AGF Investments, in a note.

"It will take weeks to iron out all of the details, and then the suspense will rise -- could this attract 60 votes in the Senate, avoiding a filibuster?" he wrote.

Earlier, data on first-time U.S. unemployment benefit applications disappointed . Initial claims fell 7,000 to 411,000 in the week ended June 19. Economists had looked for a fall to 380,000.

"The labor market remains lumpy and uneven, so the only real takeaway is that removing fiscal and monetary support too early is the biggest risk to the recovery," said Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group

"Although this doesn't solidify any 'transitory' argument, it does anchor markets to pay more attention to the labor market for cues on the future path of rates," Cox said.

Stocks were buoyed earlier this week as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized on Tuesday that the central bank still expected to see inflation pressures to prove transitory. Analysts said some steam came out of the market in Wednesday's session after Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said he pulled forward "my projection for our first move to late 2022," following a similar comment on interest rates last week from St. Louis Reserve President James Bullard.

In other U.S. economic data, May durable-goods orders climbed 2.3% in May though core capital goods orders slipped.

The advanced trade deficit in goods widened to $88.1 billion in May from $85.7 billion the previous month. Core capital goods orders declined 0.1% in May. And a revised estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product left the rate of growth unchanged at an annual rate of 6.4%.

The pace of growth in the U.S. economy in the first quarter remained unrevised at a 6.4% annualized rate after the latest revision, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said Thursday that he thinks U.S. inflation pressures will prove temporary but that the central bank needs to watch prices closely .

Which companies were in focus?

What did other markets do?

-William Watts; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com

$(END)$ Dow Jones Newswires

June 24, 2021 16:28 ET (20:28 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.