U.S. Markets Extend Rally After Congress Certifies Biden’s Victory
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Vice President Mike Pence, left, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, during a joint session of Congress to certify Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
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Stocks rose strongly on Thursday, as hopes that the Democrat-controlled Congress will enact further stimulus boosted cyclical sectors. Not to be outdone, technology and software stocks also rallied, rebounding from losses on Wednesday.
The spectacle of violence in the capital of the world’s leading economy remains front of mind for many, but has had little to no impact on the stock market. Congress certified President-elect Joe Biden’s win early Thursday morning and President Donald Trump, in a statement on an aide’s
Twitter
account, committed to a peaceful transfer of power, while vowing to continue to fight the results of the election.
That came after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as the Electoral College votes were being certified, resulting in four deaths. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer joined a growing chorus of officials and business groups on Thursday calling for Trump’s immediate removal from office.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
rose 230 points, or 0.8%, on Thursday afternoon. The
S&P 500
was up 1.5%, and the
Nasdaq Composite
rose 2.4%. The small-cap
Russell 2000
added 1.5%.
More impactful to financial markets is the news that Democrats swept both Georgia Senate runoff elections, boosting the chances of additional fiscal stimulus to offset the economic damage from the pandemic. Sen. Schumer said a priority would be enacting $2,000 stimulus checks.
“Trump ‘mob’ protesters failed to push investors to a risk-off position as confidence over an increased stimulus package continues to lift markets,” said Rony Nehme, chief market analyst at Squared Financial.
Underscoring the need for that inflow of cash was news Thursday that 787,000 people filed initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended Jan. 2. The total was down by 3,000 from the prior week but remains far above pre-pandemic levels.
The Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.5%, the German
DAX
rose 0.5% to a record high, and the U.K.’s
FTSE 100
ticked up 0.2%. In Asia, the
Nikkei 225
rallied 1.6% and the
Kospi Composite
rallied 2.1%,…
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