Wall Street Close: Fresh record highs as markets cheer coronavirus headlines/upbeat Fed Chair

• The DJIA was ending flat at about 29,276.
•  S&P 500 climbed around 6 points or 0.2%, closing near 3,358.
• The Nasdaq Composite Index put on 0.1%, adding about 11 points to close near 9,639. 

US benchmarks were mostly higher with records scored again in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite as investors cheered more signs that the threat of the coronavirus is diminishing. 

Overnight, China’s National Health Commission confirmed that the new coronavirus cases had actually fallen to 2,478 from 3,062 a day earlier, bringing the total to 42,638 on the mainland, including some of whom have since recovered and been released from treatment.

Subsequently, when coupled with another solid round of corporate earnings, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each posting a record finish and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged. The DJIA was ending at about 29,276 while the S&P 500 climbed around 6 points or 0.2%, closing near 3,358. The Nasdaq Composite Index put on 0.1%, adding about 11 points to close near 9,639. 

 Fed Chair Powell's testimony

As for Federal Reserve's Chair, Jerome Powell, he sounded upbeat but had a cautious tone in his semi-annual testimony to Congress, although enugh positives here to support optimims on Wall Street:

"The FOMC believes that the current stance of monetary policy will support continued economic growth, a strong labour market, and inflation returning to the Committee's symmetric 2 percent objective. As long as incoming information about the economy remains broadly consistent with this outlook, the current stance of monetary policy will likely remain appropriate".

 

DJIA levels