NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday as hopes for an effective COVID-19 treatment prompted a broad rally and helped investors shrug off bleak GDP data and words of warning from U.S.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Big tech companies provided the biggest lift to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, and pushed all three major U.S.
stock averages closer to their all-time highs reached in February. All are well within 20% of their record levels, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq now within 10% of its high.
Smaller companies, which stand to benefit more from restrictions being lifted on a state-by-state basis, continue to outperform their larger counterparts, with the Russell 2000 registering its sixth straight advance.