Wall Street has biggest gain in almost 2 months

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 450 points Wednesday as the stock market notched its best day in nearly two months.

The S&P 500 rose 1.5 percent, it’s best day since July 6. The benchmark index and the Nasdaq composite each hit new highs, extending Wall Street’s milestonesetting run in recent weeks.

Health care, technology and communications companies drove the rally. Technology stocks, which have led the market’s rebound this year, gained strength into the afternoon after a brief stumble in the morning. Treasury yields were little changed. They’ve remained very low in response to the Federal Reserve’s efforts to stabilize the economy and investors’ uncertainty about the recovery, which makes them less attractive compared to stocks.

Speculation that negotiators in Congress and the White House will reach an agreement on a coronavirus relief package and optimism that a COVID-19 vaccine will become available this year helped put traders in a buying mood Wednesday, said J.J. Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade.

“That, along with the fact that people continue to want to buy the stocks that have performed so well,” he said. “You look around for alternatives to put your money in right now and there really aren’t many great places to say ‘this is where I want to have my money.’”

“There’s a desire on both sides and they’re recognizing they are going to have to come to a deal some time soon,” said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management.

The S&P 500 gained 54.19 points to 3,580.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 454.84 points, or 1.6 percent, to 29,100.50. The Nasdaq composite recovered from an early slide, adding 116.78 points, or 1 percent, to 12,056.44.

The benchmark S&P 500 index is up 10.8 percent so far this year following a five month streak of gains, while the Nasdaq is up 34.4 percent, driven by huge gains for technology giants like Apple.