New York, December 29: US stocks hit record highs on Monday after President Donald Trump signed the latest COVID-19 relief bill into law, ending the stand-off on the issue that had held up financial aid for Americans affected by the pandemic.

The S&P 500, a barometer for the top 500 US stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, increased 0.9 per cent to close at 3,735, after setting an all-time high at 3,741. Donald Trump Signs COVID-19 Relief Bill to Help Americans Amid Coronavirus Pandemic; Here’s All You Need to Know About the Relief Package in the US.

The Nasdaq Composite Index, which counts on the performance of US tech stock giants such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, gained 0.7 per cent to settle at 12,899, after a record peak at 12,930.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, Wall Street's broadest stocks gauge, edged up 0.7 per cent to close at 30,404, after reaching a historic high at 30,526.

Trump stunned markets when he announced on Thursday that he would not sign the Congress-approved USD 900 billion relief bill and an accompanying government funding bill of USD 1.4 trillion unless lawmakers agreed to boost the aid for each American from USD 600 to USD 2,000.

While Republican senators continued to hold out on the president's demands on Friday, Democrats rallied behind him in a rare show of unity. Trump reversed his stance on the matter just as suddenly on Sunday and signed the bill, saying he had gotten Republicans to agree on sending separate checks to Americans to make up for the USD 2,000 payout. Trump's move triggered a rally across risk assets on Monday.

A vote in Congress later on Monday will determine if Republican senators indeed support the US president's plan.

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