S&P, Nasdaq open month by reaching new records

Wall Street kicked off December with more milestones Tuesday after a broad rally for stocks pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite to new highs.

The S&P 500 gained 1.1%, with Big Tech companies and banks driving a big part of the rally. The strong opening to December follows a 10.8% surge for the broad index in November, marking its best month since April. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.3%. Both indexes beat the record highs they set Friday. Treasury yields also rose in another sign of optimism from investors.

Stocks have been ramping higher in recent weeks as investors focus on the possibility that coronavirus vaccines could soon help usher in a fuller global economic recovery. Lawmakers in Washington are debating once more whether to deliver another round of coronavirus relief to the economy before President Donald Trump leaves office.

“It seems like both the House and the Senate are trying to break this logjam,” said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

The S&P500 rose 40.82 points to 3,662.45. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 185.28 points, or 0.6%, to 29,823.92. The Nasdaq climbed 156.37 points to 12,355.11. Small company stocks also added to their recent gains. The Russell 2000 index picked up 16.23 points, or 0.9%, to 1,836.05.

Roughly 76% of the companies in the S&P 500 rose Tuesday, as did every sector in the index, except for industrials. Technology stocks led the way higher. Apple rose 3.1% and Microsoft gained 1%. Facebook climbed 3.5%, while Netflix added 2.8%. Google parent Alphabet rose 2.3% and Amazon gained 1.6%.

Banks, health care stocks and companies that rely on direct consumer spending also helped drive the market higher.