US Stock Post Solid Gains After Three Down Sessions

New York, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th May, 2021 ) :Wall Street stocks rallied Thursday following three down sessions as the United States ended its indoor mask mandate in a move expected to boost the economic recovery.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed mask requirements for people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, a watershed moment in the pandemic that comes more than a year after the Federal government recommended people cover their faces in public.

"If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic," CDC director Rochelle Walensky said.

The CDC action helped the market recover from a midday pullback after a positive opening.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.3 percent at 34,021.45.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.

2 percent to close at 4,112.50, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.7 percent to 13,124.99.

All three indices had fallen this week as investors questioned lofty equity valuations and worried over data showing rising inflation.

Stocks posting strong gains included many companies expected to benefit from a reopening, such Live Nation Entertainment, up 4.3 percent, United Airlines, up 2.8 percent, and movie chain AMC Entertainment, up 23.7 percent.

Earlier, the Labor Department reported 473,000 new applications for jobless benefits made in the week ended May 8, fewer than expected and 34,000 less than the previous week's upwardly revised level.

But wholesale price inflation in the United States surged 6.2 percent in April compared to the same month in 2020, the highest on record.