WMT - S&P 500 Airline Stocks Cruise Stocks Surge on Abbott Labs FDA Approval Federal Reserve Policy Change
After spending the first half of the trading session down as much as 0.3%, the S&P 500 Index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) rallied in the afternoon, closing up 0.2% on August 27, following news that the U.S. Federal Reserve was making what looks like the biggest change in its policy-setting framework in decades. The change bodes well for stocks, if not so great for many consumers or investors who own bonds.
Additionally, news that broke yesterday is having a positive lift for the market: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) was expected to receive emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its 15-minute coronavirus test. It has now officially received that authorization.
Between the continuation of the Fed's low-rate policy focus and the prospects for a low-cost, fast-result test, investors are piling into stocks expected to be beneficiaries of both. Five of the nine biggest-gaining S&P stocks today were airline and cruise stocks, while Abbott Labs was the second-biggest gainer, up 8.2%. Today's best-performing S&P 500 component was Live Nation International (NYSE: LYV), with shares up 8.9%.