NEW YORK, N.Y. — Stocks surged on Wall Street for a third day in a row Thursday as a $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill gets closer to passing Congress.
Major indexes jumped more than 6%, bringing the S&P 500 up 17% since Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 1,300 points, or 6.2%. The Dow also capped off its largest three-day surge since 1931, CNBC reports, rising more than 20% in three days.
The astonishing rally came even as the massive scale of the downturn slamming the economy becomes more apparent.
Nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, shattering the prior record set in 1982. The outbreak has happened so suddenly that the report is one of the first to show how much economic pain it’s creating across the nation.
The S&P 500 remains 22% below its February high and analysts expect more dire economic headlines in the days ahead.
The massive rescue bill cleared the Senate late Wednesday and is headed for a House vote Friday. It's expected to pass and be sent to President Donald Trump's desk to be signed into law.