NEW YORK -- Stocks are drifting in mixed trading on Wall Street Tuesday afternoon after Congress finally approved a $900 billion rescue to carry the economy through what's likely to be a bleak winter.
The hope for investors is that such support can prop up the economy for the next several months, before a more widespread rollout of coronavirus vaccines can allow it to stand on its own. That expectation has been driving markets for a while, but a new worry is casting some doubt on it. Even without the new coronavirus strain, the resurgent pandemic has already been dragging on the U.S. economy, which had roared to a record annualized pace of 33.4% growth during the summer. Two weaker reports on important areas of the economy added to the growing pile of discouraging data on Tuesday.
Travel-related companies were among those taking the hardest hits, again, amid worries about more restrictions on movement. Norwegian Cruise Line lost 6%, and American Airlines Group sank 2.9%.