By Joe Wallace, Paul Vigna and Xie Yu 

U.S. stocks wavered Tuesday as investors faced a protracted economic recovery following the coronavirus lockdowns, outbreaks of violence across American cities and tensions with China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 144 points, or 0.6%, led by financial stocks including American Express and Goldman Sachs. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%.

The S&P 500 has risen for five out of the past six sessions, boosted by data suggesting the downturn in the U.S. economy has bottomed and hopes that the coronavirus will be brought under control.

The index is up more than 35% from its March low, a rebound many analysts attribute to an unprecedented level of stimulus offered by the Federal Reserve and Congress.

Still, the U.S. economy could take the better part of a decade to fully recover from the pandemic and related shutdowns, a U.S. budget agency said Monday. Output isn't expected to catch up to a previously forecast level until the fourth quarter of 2029, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said.

"It's clear that we're not going to go back to the levels [of economic activity] we saw pre-Covid-19," said Sophie Huynh, a strategist at Société Générale. "It's impossible: we're living in a self-inflicted recession. We're going to start the post-Covid 19 world at the start of a new economic cycle."

Cities across the U.S. faced another night of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week. Some major metropolitan areas, including New York and Los Angeles, either issued or extended nighttime curfews. President Trump called for a tougher government response to the violent unrest and said he is ordering thousands of armed soldiers and law enforcement officers to the nation's capital.

The unrest has added to challenges faced by businesses seeking to get back up and running following lockdowns designed to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Macy's delayed the reopening of some stores shut during the pandemic. Apple stores that had recently unlocked their doors were boarded back up. Investors have largely shrugged off the impact of the protests on earnings and the U.S. economy.

"If it looks like Wall Street is flourishing while Main Street flounders, there's another back-door bailout but not a real recovery, there's going to be calls on the legitimacy of these markets," said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US.

Among individual stocks, Western Union rose 11% after Bloomberg News reported that the money-transfer provider was seeking to buy MoneyGram International. Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, which said it expects to reopen 11 more hotels this month, rose 0.9%.

There were also signs of life in the IPO market. Warner Music Group and ZoomInfo Technologies plan to list their shares Wednesday and Thursday in what would be the biggest overall IPO and the top new technology issue of the year, respectively.

In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 0.675%, from 0.669% on Monday.

U.S. crude futures rose 1.4% to $35.94. An alliance of oil-producing nations, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is close to a deal that would extend output cuts through Sept. 1, according to delegates. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed to move a planned conference call to discuss future output curbs to Thursday, they said.

International stocks gained ground, extending a recent rally fueled by hopes of a rebound in the global economy. The Stoxx Europe 600 advanced 1.5%, led by shares in auto and auto-parts makers.

Germany's DAX index surged 3.7%, following a public holiday Monday, on reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition is holding talks about delivering a second spending package to boost the country's economy.

"There's a lot of positivity starting to build up around Europe," said James McCormick, head of desk strategy at NatWest Markets, pointing to a decline in coronavirus cases and relaxation of lockdown measures on the continent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 1.2% higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.1%.

"The equity market has been pricing in a smooth recovery of the economy, although it might be too optimistic while overlooking some potential risks," said Anthony Chan, chief Asia investment strategist at Union Bancaire Privée.

Write to Joe Wallace at Joe.Wallace@wsj.com, Paul Vigna at paul.vigna@wsj.com and Xie Yu at Yu.Xie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 02, 2020 12:37 ET (16:37 GMT)

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