US: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq end at records in post-election surge
WALL Street stocks surged to all-time records on Wednesday in a torrid post-election rally that cheered Donald Trump’s growth agenda and welcomed the presidential race’s swift conclusion.
All three major indices finished at all time-highs, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which piled on 3.6 per cent at 43,729.93.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.5 per cent to 5,929.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 3.0 per cent to 18,983.47.
Markets expect passage of Trump’s agenda based on Republican wins in the Senate and anticipation that his party will retain the House as well.
The rally translated into particularly robust gains for financial and industrial companies, as well as for private prison stocks. Renewable energy companies were among the losers.
“The reaction today is just the fact that it was a clean sweep ... winning the election, the electoral vote, the popular vote, the Senate, and looking like they’ll retain the House as well,” said Aaron Clark, equity portfolio manager at GW&K Investment Management. “The market’s clearly on a sugar high.”
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The gains showed investor hopes about expected tax cuts and regulatory easing more than offset worries about higher tariffs.
“A swift and decisive outcome reduces the risks of protracted uncertainty, political violence, recession risks, and even geopolitical spillover that could have accompanied presidential election outcome uncertainty,” said Prestige Economics’ Jason Schenker.
Big winners in the post-election rally included Trump Media & Technology Group, home to the president-elect’s Truth Social platform, as well as Tesla, which is led by Trump mega-supporter Elon Musk.
Trump Media rose 5.9 per cent and Tesla piled on 14.8 per cent.
Big financial companies also soared in expectation of an easing in strict banking rules. JPMorgan Chase won 11.6 per cent and Goldman Sachs soared 13.2 per cent.
CoreCivic and GEO Group, which manage immigration detention centres, both jumped on expectations of more investment. CoreCivic won nearly 29 per cent while GEO Group won more than 42 per cent.
But renewable energy producers and other companies focused on sustainability were under pressure. This group included Enphase Energy, down 16.8 per cent, and First Solar, down 10.1 per cent. AFP
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