Dow Jones Rallies With ‘$2 Trillion’ Biden Stimulus Plan Due; Intel

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied ahead of the expected unveiling of a massive new coronavirus stimulus plan by President-elect Joe Biden. Small caps and growth stocks were leading, while Intel (INTC) and Boeing (BA) were the leading blue chips.

General Motors (GM) continued to advance bullishly amid its EV expansion, while relative upstarts Tesla (TSLA) and Nio (NIO) retreated. There were also a couple of breakouts, with Qualcomm (QCOM) and Repligen (RGEN) passing buy points.

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Biden Stimulus Plan Due

President-elect Biden is getting set to release details of his stimulus plan Thursday evening. The price tag for the massive spending bill could reach $2 trillion, according to CNN.

For individuals, there is expected to be a boost to the recent $600 payments sent to individuals, as well as an extension of increased unemployment insurance. More aid for state and local governments is also expected.

Meanwhile, first-time jobless claims totaled 965,000 last week, according to new Labor Department data. This was much higher than the 790,000 expected by analysts, according to Econoday data. Stricter lockdowns seem to be taking a toll on hiring. However the total number of people receiving benefits declined to 18.4 million.

Nasdaq, S&P 500 Rally

The Nasdaq was jousting with the Dow Jones for the title of best-performing major index of the day. It was up around 0.4%. Top performers included Applied Materials (AMAT), which rose more than 8%, and KLA (KLAC).

The S&P 500 posted a less impressive gain of 0.2%. The best performing stocks included Occidental Petroleum (OXY), which rallied almost 9%, and Marathon Oil (MRO).

Volume was mixed compared with the same time on Wednesday. It slipped by around 11% on the Nasdaq and rose by around 3% on the NYSE.

The sectors were finely poised, with slightly more winners than losers. Energy and real estate were faring best. The Vanguard Energy Index Fund ETF (VDE) rallied by more than 3%.

Small caps were substantially outperforming the major indexes, with the Russell 2000 gaining more than 2%.

Growth stocks were faring even better, with the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) gaining around 2.3%. Top performers on the IBD 50 index included Futu (FUTU), which surged by 11.5%, and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). It was a good day overall for chip stocks.

Intel, Boeing Stocks Helps Dow Jones Fly Higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was neck and neck with the Nasdaq, also rising by 0.4%.

The index was aided by the strong performance of Intel, which continues to benefit from news that it is replacing fiscally-minded Chief Executive Bob Swan with a new technology-focused leader. While it gave up some…