Wall Street Close: Bulls cheer retail rush to silver, stimulus talks in focus

Although silver has been the bull’s favorite on Monday, Wall Street benchmarks also kick-started the busy week on a positive note as market frenzy favored further acceleration in stocks, mainly the mining ones.

The DJIA gained 229 points, 0.76%, to close at 30,211.91 whereas the Nasdaq Composite Index came in first with 2.55% gains, up 332 points to 13,403. Further, the S&P 500 Index also followed the suit by adding 59.62 points, or 2.55%, to 3,773.86.

Mixed US activity numbers for January failed to disappoint buyers cheering downbeat European economics increasing odds of further stimulus. Also keeping the mood positive were talks surrounding US President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion aid package as markets seem confident that Republicans may finally agree to the much-awaited stimulus despite recent offers of nearly $600 billion of relief.

Major attention, though, was given to the mining stocks as a jump in silver prices and physical demand drove market players to pile their coin inventories amid social media platform chatters. “The iShares Silver Trust ETF - the largest silver-backed ETF - jumped 7.1%. Data showed its holdings rose by a record 37 million shares from Thursday to Friday alone, each representing an ounce of silver,” said Reuters.

It’s worth mentioning that the comparative vaccine advantage of the US, versus the rest of the Western world, offered extra fuel to the run-up.

Amid these plays, Federal Reserve policymakers, namely Boston Fed Bank President Eric Rosengren and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic reiterated the need for further stimulus amid economic uncertainty. Additionally, Fed’s Bostic turned down the odds that Gamestop, retail trading volatility needing the monetary policy address.

Looking forward, US stimulus chatters and market frenzy will be in focus ahead of Friday’s key NFP. Meanwhile, the coronavirus (COVID-19) and vaccine news can also entertain the traders.