Stocks Rally, Dow Rises Over 300 Points As Investors Become More Optimistic About Reopening The Economy

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.5%, over 300 points, at Tuesday’s open, while the S&P 500 rose 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite 1%.

Stocks got a boost from a partial reopening of the economy, with states like Alaska, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas all taking steps this week to let some businesses resume operations.

As the first wave of consumers emerge from coronavirus quarantine, that should help some companies that have been hard-hit during the pandemic.

Stocks like Wynn Resorts, Simon Property Group and Kohl’s, for example, all gained more than 4% on Tuesday morning, as they would benefit from a partial reopening.

Shares of 3M, the lead producer of N95 masks, rose over 5% after the company reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings, boosted by surging sales of personal safety equipment.

Oil prices have rebounded somewhat, following another big sell-off of nearly 25% on Monday. Earlier on Tuesday, WTI futures for June fell more than 20%, but have since pared back losses, now only down 2%.