Wild 3rd Quarter Is Over for Wall St.

Stocks rallied after a bumpy day
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 30, 2020 4:11 PM CDT
Bumpy Day Closes Out Wild Quarter for Wall St.
In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, traders, foreground center, gather at a post on the NYSE trading floor during the direct listing of Palantir Technologies, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020.   (NYSE Photo/Courtney Crow via AP)

Stocks rallied on Wednesday, but only after zooming up, down and back up again in a fitting end to what was a wild month and quarter for Wall Street. Prospects for additional support from Congress for the economy helped drive the day’s trading, as they have for weeks, the AP reports. The S&P 500 shot to a gain of as much as 1.7% after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that he would talk with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about a potential deal in the afternoon, “and I hope we can get something done." But the gains nearly vanished as pessimism rose about Washington’s ability to get past its partisanship and send economic aid that investors say is crucial. The S&P 500 hit its low for the day just after Pelosi said she and Mnuchin “found areas where we are seeking further clarification,” though she said talks will continue.

By the end of trading, momentum had returned, and the S&P 500 rose 27.53 points, or 0.8%, to 3,363.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 329.04, or 1.2%, to 27,781.70, and the Nasdaq composite added 82.26, or 0.7%, to 11,167.51. It was the last day of a strong quarter for the market, where the S&P 500 rallied 8.5% to follow up on its 20% surge in the spring. But momentum slowed sharply at the end of the quarter, and the index lost 3.9% in September for its first monthly loss since the market was selling off in March. A long list of worries dogged Wall Street, headlined by concerns that the Big Tech stocks dominating the market simply got too expensive following their tremendous run to records.

(More stock market stories.)

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