Dow surges 11.3 percent on hope for coronavirus stimulus in biggest one-day percentage gain since 1933

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its best one-day percentage gain in nearly 90 years, soaring 2,093 points by the time markets closed on Tuesday as investors braced for Congress to finally pass the coronavirus stimulus bill.

The increase represented the index’s largest one-day surge since 1933, and was matched by similarly spectacular recoveries in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The S&P was up 9.4 percent, its best rally since October 2008, and the Nasdaq leapt 8.1 percent, the best day it has seen in weeks.

Stocks surged in anticipation of legislators reaching an agreement on the $2.5 trillion coronavirus stimulus package. The gains were led by Boeing, whose shares rallied more than 20 percent; the ailing aircraft manufacturer is expected to receive a bailout in the legislation, and Chevron, which led the Dow’s recovery with a gain of 22 percent.

The coronavirus stimulus package has failed to clear the Senate twice since Sunday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised an objection to the bipartisan bill at the eleventh hour, attempting to replace it with her party’s own, much longer version of the legislation. After Republicans balked at the inclusion of a laundry-list of partisan add-ons to the must-pass bill, President Donald Trump warned he wouldn’t pass the fattened new version and the two parties returned to the drawing board. On Tuesday morning, however, leaders from both parties hinted they were hours away from a mutually-satisfactory compromise, and the size of the bill has reportedly ballooned to $2.5 trillion.

Trump emphasized on Tuesday that he was determined to reopen the coronavirus-stricken economy as soon as possible, floating Easter Sunday - less than a month away - as a goal date. Markets have been spiraling downward for weeks as government-mandated shutdowns have forced businesses to close and lay off workers, but the glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel - even just a rumored one - appears to have calmed skittish investors somewhat.

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