US stocks jump despite stalemate in Congress on relief

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks opened the week on a positive note Monday, rising ahead of key US jobs data and shrugging off a congressional stalemate on new government relief measures. About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8 percent at 26,645.78.

The broad-based S&P 500 also gained 0.8 percent to 3,297.97, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.4 percent to 10,896.85.

A partisan fight in Washington has thrown into doubt the prospects for extending $600 per week supplemental unemployment benefits, a key element of economic support since March that has now expired.

But Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the aggressive actions from the Federal Reserve have helped offset worries about a weakening economy due to the coronavirus and other concerns.

"The stock market has remained quick to buy on weakness, and, in many cases buy on the momentum of a winning trade," O'Hare said.

This week's calendar includes earnings from Disney, as well as the July employment report, which will provide a window into the extent that the US coronavirus resurgence of recent weeks has dragged down the economy.

Among individual companies, Microsoft jumped 3.9 percent after announcing that Chief Executive Satya Nadella had talked with US President Donald Trump about acquiring video-sharing app TikTok, which Trump views as national security threat.