US stocks rise, shrug off stimulus doubts

The major US stock indices rose on Wednesday, despite the lingering uncertainty about the second US fiscal aid package to ease the coronavirus impact.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met yesterday with some congressional leaders to narrow their differences and discuss the possibility of securing a deal on the $1.8 trillion stimulus package.

Meanwhile, the election race in the US is heating up between the Republican candidates Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Investors are focusing on the corporate earnings season, with major firms releasing their business results, led by Netflix, Snapchat and a slew of US banks.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 0.4% or 107 points to 28,415 as of 15:40 GMT, Nasdaq rose 0.5% or 62 points to 11,578, and S&P 500 rose 0.5% or 16 points to 3,459.