Wall Street closes solidly higher as stimulus talks progress

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 329.04 points, or 1.2%, to 27,781.7, the S&P 500 gained 27.53 points, or 0.83%, to 3,363 and the Nasdaq Composite added 82.26 points, or 0.74%, to 11,167.51. Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500,10 ended the session in positive territory, with healthcare and financials enjoying the largest percentage gains

NEW YORK: U.S. stocks closed solidly higher on Wednesday as government leaders continued talks for a new pandemic relief package and positive economic data helped the major indexes end the third quarter in positive territory.

All three major indexes surged after U.S. House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin both expressed hope for a breakthrough in partisan stimulus negotiations.