Wall Street rises on stimulus bets as labor market rebound cools

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street see-sawed on Thursday as investors juggled optimism over progress on stimulus talks Washington with signs of waning momentum of economic recovery from the pandemic recession, now entering its ninth month.

A spate of data, including jobless claims and consumer spending, suggested that the plodding economic recovery could be losing steam.

But in the latest development in negotiations for a new pandemic relief deal, the White House countered House Democrats’ $2.2 trillion package with a $1.5 trillion-plus proposal, to include a $20 billion aid extension for airlines.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cautioned that Democrats and the White House remained locked in a debate over dollars an values, but expressed optimism that a deal could be reached.

“The market is viewing the stimulus as a lubricant for the economy, to take the market to the next level and to keep the consumer strong,” said Matthew Keator, managing partner in the Keator Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts.

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