What happened
Shares of Appian Corporation (APPN +1.75%) popped this morning after President Donald Trump signaled that his administration is open to an economic stimulus deal after all.
The S&P 500 rose 1.2% on the news and Appian's stock was up by as much as 6.2% this morning and had gained 4.6% as of 10:56 a.m. EDT.
So what
Tech stocks have been one bright spot during this tough economic time, as investors have flocked to companies that help people work from home and keep businesses afloat. But ongoing uncertainty about the economy has caused some wild price swings over the past couple of months.
Image source: Getty Images.
President Trump had appeared reluctant to accept any new economic stimulus deal as recently as yesterday when he said that he didn't want his administration working on any stimulus negotiations until after the presidential election. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been in talks about a possible new economic stimulus plan, although no agreement had been reached.
But Trump sent out a tweet today telling Congress to work on a plan that would help give money to the airlines and small businesses by using unused funds from the previously passed CARES Act. He also said he would approve a stand-alone bill that sends additional stimulus checks to Americans.
Investors were happy to see that the administration is at least open to pursuing some sort of deal. The U.S. economy is still in a recession, the unemployment rate is just under 8%, and the hopes for fast economic recovery have mostly faded.
Now what
Today's share price jump puts Appian's stock up 92% year to date, far outpacing the S&P 500's 5.4% gain over the same period. Even with these impressive results, Appian investors should expect more volatility from the market as the U.S. continues to fight the pandemic and a recession.
