Stocks continue gains as COVID-19 relief remains in question

Stock markets secured gains for the third day counting as the status of another fiscal relief package remained up in the air in Washington.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 132 points, or 0.5 percent, and the S&P 500 was up 30 points, or 0.9 percent.

Markets shuddered on Tuesday when President Trump abruptly tweeted that he was pulling the plug on negotiations between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over a $1 trillion-$2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

Trump has since backtracked, first calling for passing a series of separate bills, an approach Pelosi has rejected since summer, then saying he wants to go big.

For her part, Pelosi pulled back on her own call to pass airline aid separately, saying on Thursday that such a bill could only pass in the context of a larger deal.

Mnuchin and Pelosi have continued talks, but the outcome remains uncertain just 25 days before Election Day. On Friday, the administration upped its offer to $1.8 trillion, but a Pelosi spokesman said she was still waiting on additional legislative details on fighting COVID-19.

Updated at 4:14 p.m.