Stocks Finish Higher As State Governors Consider Reopening The Economy

The Dow Jones industrial average ended Tuesday up 2.4%, over 500 points, while the S&P 500 was up 3.1% and the Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 4%.

Wall Street has become more optimistic about the coronavirus outlook, with the number of new cases in the U.S. starting to level off, but tensions between state governors and President Trump have begun to emerge over when and how to reopen the American economy.

Amazon’s stock jumped nearly 6% and hit a new all-time high of $2,291 per share on Tuesday: The e-commerce giant has experienced unprecedented demand amid widespread coronavirus-related shutdowns.

Investors have also been bracing themselves for the start of corporate earnings—with profit-and-loss estimates expected to be murky—as companies indicate how much of an impact the coronavirus crisis has had on their businesses.

Earnings season kicked off with sobering revelations from both JPMorgan and Wells Fargo: both banks have socked away billions in preparation for loan defaults across their consumer and corporate business lines.

Shares of drugmaker and consumer goods company Johnson & Johnson, on the other hand, rose over 4.5% after the company beat revenue and profit estimates, raising its dividend by 6% even as it slashed its full-year forecast.