Dow rallies more than 1,100 points as healthcare shares lead
CGTN
A screen displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 4, 2020. /Reuters

A screen displays the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 4, 2020. /Reuters

U.S. stocks soared on Wednesday with the Dow up more than 1,100 points, as healthcare sector led the gains. 

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1,173.45 points, or 4.53 percent, to 27,090.86. The S&P 500 climbed 126.75 points, or 4.22 percent, to 3,130.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 334.00 points, or 3.85 percent, to 9,018.09. 

All of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors rallied, with health care up 5.81 percent, outpacing the rest. 

Major victories former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden recorded during the Super Tuesday vote boosted the healthcare stocks, according to experts. 

"We believe the positive market sentiment is based at least in part on the Super Tuesday results," analysts at UBS Global Wealth Management said in a note on Wednesday. 

"Biden favors building on the Affordable Care Act, which would likely benefit the industry," they noted. 

On the data front, U.S. private sector employment increased by 183,000 jobs from January to February, payroll data company Automatic Data Processing (ADP) reported on Wednesday. 

U.S. non-manufacturing index registered 57.3 percent, up 1.8 percentage points from the January reading of 55.5 percent, said the Institute for Supply Management. Numbers over 50 percent are viewed as positive for the economy. 

U.S. equities have been experiencing great fluctuations these days. The Dow plunged more than 780 points on Tuesday despite the Federal Reserve's emergency interest-rate cut, following a nearly 1,300 points gain in the prior session.

The U.S. central bank on Tuesday lowered the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 1 percent-1.25 percent amid COVID-19 concerns.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency