By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow's attempt to resume its rebound toward session highs on Friday was cut short somewhat after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will pass a bill to ramp up testing of the novel coronavirus, but stopped short of signalling any progress on a deal with the White House over proposals.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3%, or 628 points, but had been as high as 1,000 ahead of the speech. The S&P 500 added 2.4% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.3%.
Pelosi, in a statement at 2 PM ET (18:00 GMT), said legistlation expected to be passed today would provide free coronavirus testing, including for the uninsured, provide two weeks of sick leave and bolster unemployment insurance and food lunch programs.
The speech arrived after two days of intense talks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over an economic aid package at time when infections in the country continue to jump. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had called the Democratic package an idealogical wishlist.
The number of infections in the New York state has surged by more by 30% overnight to 421, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.