Tuesday, 02 Feb 2021 11:45 PM MYT
Alphabet, which will report the cost and operating profit of its Google Cloud business for the first time, added 1.8 per cent, while retail behemoth Amazon.com Inc rose 1.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the Democratic-led US House of Representatives prepared to take the first step forward on President Joe Biden’s US$1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package on Tuesday, with a key vote expected to fast-track the measure through Congress.
At 9.49am ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 383.72 points, or 1.27 per cent, to 30,595.63, the S&P 500 gained 48.81 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 3,822.67 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 182.88 points, or 1.36 per cent, to 13,586.28. “The pandemic news is getting better. The distribution of vaccines and the pace of vaccinations is improving,” said John Brady, senior vice president at R.J. O’Brien & Associates in Chicago.
Exxon Mobil Corp posted its first annual loss as a public company after the Covid-19 pandemic hammered energy prices and reduced the value of its shale gas properties by more than US$20 billion. However, its shares rose 1.5 per cent.