US STOCKS-Wall Street closes higher as recovery signs soothe protest, pandemic worries

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By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks posted gains on
Monday as signs of U.S. economic recovery helped offset jitters
over increasingly violent social unrest amid an ongoing pandemic
and rising U.S.-China tensions.
All three major stock indexes began the month with gains of
less than 1% on the heels of a strong rally in May.
"Certainly the pace of the stock market recovery can't
contnue at the pace it has been," said Paul Nolte, portfolio
manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago. "I'm stunned
at how well the market's been doing. It's truly a
head-scratcher."
The White House called for "law and order" as U.S. cities
were looted and smoldering after six nights of widespread,
violent demonstrations triggered by the death of George Floyd at
the hands of police, even as the country reels from the economic
effects of pandemic-related lockdowns. "Most investors are saying (the protests) aren't going to
destroy the economy," Nolte added. "It's a roadblock but it's
not as big as a pandemic."
The unrest has prompted retailers such as Target Corp
TGT.N and Walmart Inc WMT.N to shutter a portion of their
stores, while Amazon.com AMZN.O has scaled back deliveries.
Further weighing on sentiment, China has ordered state-owned
firms to halt purchases of U.S. soybeans and pork, in
retaliation for President Donald Trump's announcement that he
would end special treatment for Hong Kong following China's move
to tighten security measures in the territory. But economic data gave a boost to investor sentiment, with
the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) purchasing managers'
index (PMI) showing the contraction of factory activity was
slowing, and a decline in construction spending was not as steep
as economists feared. "The numbers are still poor, but as long as they continue to
improve there's reason for optimism," Nolte said.
A fuller picture of the economic damage wrought by
pandemic-related lockdowns is expected on Friday, when the Labor
Department's jobs report is seen showing a drop of 8 million
jobs and an unemployment rate sky-rocketing to 19.7%.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
0.37% to end at 25,476.05 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 0.38%, to 3,055.75.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC climbed 0.65% to 9,551.67.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N fell after the drugmaker's breast cancer
treatment was deemed unlikely to meet the main goal of a
late-stage study. Gilead Sciences Inc GILD.O slid following mixed results in
a late-stage study of its COVID-19 drug candidate, remdesivir.
Meanwhile, rivals firms CTI Biopharma Corp CTIC.O and
Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc PTI.O advanced following reports
that their potential COVID-19 treatments showed promise.
Shares of cosmetics company Coty Inc COTY.N jumped after
the appointment of Chairman Peter Harf as its new chief
executive officer.