Stocks are still riding Wall Street’s post-election wave Thursday, and the S&P 500 is rallying 2% toward its biggest weekly jump since April.
Tuesday’s election still hasn’t made clear who will run the White House next year, though Joe Biden is pushing closer toward the needed mark. Markets are banking on the election leading to split control of Congress, which could mean the continuation of low tax rates and other business-friendly policies.
The S&P 500 is on pace for its fourth straight gain of more than 1%, along with a 7.4% jump for the week. That would be its best week since the market was exploding out of the crater created in February and March by panic about the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 475 points, or 1.7%, at 28,323, as of 9:54 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.4% higher.
Technology stocks were helping to lead the way, as they have through the pandemic and for years before that. Rising expectations that Republicans can hold onto the Senate are easing investors’ worries that a Democratic-controlled Washington would beef up antitrust laws and go after Big Tech more aggressively.
Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook and Google’s parent company were all up between 1.8% and 4%. They’re also the five biggest stock sin the S&P 500 by market value.
Broadly, markets are seeing split control of Congress as a case of what Mizuho bank calls “Goldilocks Gridlock.”
An expectation that Biden has a chance of winning has also raised hopes that U.S. foreign policies might be “more clear,” said Jackson Wong, asset management director of Amber Hill Capital. He added, “investors are cheering for that. That’s why the markets are performing well.”
Stocks also climbed across European and Asian markets Thursday.
Still, many analysts suggest such powerful and widespread gains may not continue. Big swings could return with the threat of a contested, drawn-out election still hanging over the market.
Full story on MarketBeat.com
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