Stocks are getting back to rallying on Wall Street after Congress, in a late-night session, certified Democrat Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% in the early going Thursday, on its way to another record high. The vote in Congress had been interrupted when a mob loyal to and encouraged by President Donald Trump broke into the U.S. Capitol, forcing lawmakers to evacuate. Investors have largely looked past the chaos and anticipate that with both houses of Congress now in Democratic control, Washington will be better able to push through more support for the U.S. economy.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Global shares rose Thursday after Congress certified Democrat Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory following unprecedented chaos when supporters of President Donald Trump ran rampant through the U.S. Capitol.
The formal recognition of Biden as president-elect on Thursday has raised expectations his administration, helped by control of both houses of Congress, will push ahead with more generous support for the U.S. economy.
Shortly after Congress certified his loss to Biden, President Donald Trump issued a statement saying there will be an “orderly transition on January 20th.” Trump still claims falsely that he won, having appeared to excuse the violent occupation of the Capitol by his supporters on Wednesday. Earlier, Trump riled up the crowd with baseless claims of election fraud.
U.S. futures rose, auguring a strong start for Wall Street. The future contract for the S&P 500 gained 0.6% while the future for the Dow industrials added 0.5%. Germany’s DAX climbed 0.3% to 13,937.17, while the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 0.4% to 5,651.03. In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.4% to 6,811.29.
Investors expect that Democratic control of both houses of Congress, after Democrats won two runoff senatorial elections in Georgia, has raised the potential for increased spending on infrastructure and more aggressive action to fight the pandemic under President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.
With pandemic restrictions being reinstated in many places as coronavirus caseloads rise amid faltering rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines, economists and investors have been clamoring for more economic aid for Americans and businesses. A strong U.S. economy is needed to help drive a global recovery from the worst downturn in decades.
“What will matter most this year is the vaccination rollout and the ability to achieve herd immunity and more government spending. On the first point, President-elect Joe Biden is likely to aggressively accelerate the rollout from Jan. 20, which is positive for risk,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a commentary.
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