Stocks are ending with solid gains on Wall Street on Tuesday as the market turns its attention to how and when authorities might begin to lift business shutdowns and limits on people’s movements imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Big companies also started reporting their first-quarter earnings, giving investors an early peek into how the outbreak was affecting them.
Johnson & Johnson rose after beating earnings estimates and raising its dividend, even though the health care giant also had to slash its outlook.
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo fell after saying they were bracing for losses on loans as millions of Americans became unemployed.
President Donald Trump has been discussing with senior aides how to roll back federal social distancing recommendations that expire at the end of the month. And governors around the U.S. have begun collaborating on plans to reopen their economies in what is likely to be a drawn-out, step-by-step process to prevent the coronavirus from rebounding with disastrous results.
