NEW YORK (AP) Wall Street is extending its gains into a second session as investors look past another bleak jobs report and hang their hopes on Washington's ability to help the economy.
Investors are awaiting a Senate vote expected late Friday on its version of an economic stimulus plan that would include a mix of spending and tax cuts. The Senate plan stands at $937 billion; the House already passed a similar version.
Financial stocks are leading the market higher as investors also await the government's latest revisions to its lifeline for banks.
Meanwhile, investors seem to be unfazed by a terrible employment reading. The Labor Department said U.S. employers slashed 598,000 jobs in January, the most since late 1974. The unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent, the highest since late 1992.
The Dow Jones industrials are up 182 at 8,245. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 16 at 862, and the Nasdaq composite is up 33 at 1,579.
Sunday
May 19th, 2024
3:15AM
