Optimism over earnings outweighed concern about the impact of inflation ahead of a first read of US Q3 GDP that is expected to show a slowdown.

While consumption in the US has jumped by 16% since the depths of the pandemic, the path forward looks littered with hurdles, Goldman said.

"Higher prices at the pump are coming," Moody's Analytics said in a note about Hurricane Ida.

Rising Delta-variant COVID-19 cases and a reduction in fiscal stimulus will create headwinds for the economy and certain stocks, David Rosenberg said.

US economic output grew at an annualized rate of 6.5% in the second quarter, missing the 8.5% estimate but placing GDP above its pre-crisis peak.

US indices inched up after GDP grew at an annualized rate of 6.5% in the second quarter, missing the 8.5% jump estimated by economists.

The Biden administration's infrastructure, jobs and families plans are expected to boost the US economy, the IMF believes.

The OECD said US growth was already picking up, aided by President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package and the speedy rollout of vaccines.

Biden's budget forecasts a boom lasting just two years, shorter than previous recoveries and out of step with many investment banks' projections.

The US has now recovered about 96% of its pandemic-era decline in output. A 10% surge for first-quarter GDP would have completed the economic rebound.

The $1.9 trillion stimulus plan approved this month contributed to a 45% jump in card spending from a year ago as of March 20, BofA economists said.

While Fitch's forecast calls for the fastest growth in decades, it's lower than estimates from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and the Federal Reserve.

The central bank's policymakers now see 2021 GDP growth landing at 6.5%, well above the prior estimate of 4.2% expansion.

The bank lifted its 2021 outlook without including the $2 trillion-plus it expects Democrats to spend in an upcoming infrastructure plan.

Growth will remain strong throughout 2022 as the government passes yet another relief bill to aid the recovery, the bank's economists said.

Unemployment is forecast to average 4.9% in 2021 and 3.9% the following year, the bank said. That's still well above the pre-pandemic lows of 3.5%.

Federal Reserve researchers simulated 2021 growth 1 million times. Disappointing global growth practically guarantees US underperformance.