US stocks end higher as $600 stimulus checks set to arrive this week

• US stocks closed higher on Wednesday as $600 stimulus checks were set to hit the bank accounts of millions of Americans later this week, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
• Investors also cheered the UK's decision to grant emergency use authorization to AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.
• $4.

US stocks gained on Wednesday as $600 stimulus checks were set to be deposited into millions of Americans bank accounts later this week, $4

The stimulus checks could be increased if the Senate takes up the vote and passes a measure from the House that would increase the size of the payments to $2,000.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declined to bring the measure up for a vote and has said insisted that any additional stimulus check measure $4 and a commission focused on election fraud.

Here's where US indexes stood after the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Wednesday:

• $4: 3,732.04, up 0.13%
• $4: 30,409.56, up 0.24% (73.89 points)
• $4: 12,870.00, up 0.15%

Read More: Bank of America highlights its top 8 stock picks in the booming housing sector - including one it expects to rally 54% next year>$4

The UK granted emergency use authorization to $4 COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was developed in partnership with Oxford University and it doesn't require the extreme cold temperature storage like other vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer.

$4 following the UK's decision to grant emergency use authorization for the vaccine.

Oil prices edged higher. $4 jumped as much as 0.54%, to $48.26 per barrel. $4, oil's international benchmark, rose 0.78%, to $51.49 per barrel.

$4 rose as much as 0.76%, to $1,897.30 per ounce.

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