Dow surges more than 500 points, heads for best week since April as post-election rally continues
Stocks jumped on Thursday on hopes the winner of the U.S. presidential and congressional elections would soon be determined, with shares of major tech-related companies leading the gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 542.52 points higher, or 1.95%, at 28,390.18. Earlier in the day, the 30-stock average was higher by more than 600 points.
The S&P 500 climbed 1.95% to 3,150.45.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.6% to 11,890.93.
Thursday also marked the first time since 1982 that the Dow and S&P 500 rose at least 1% in four straight sessions.
Those gains put the major averages on pace for their biggest weekly gains since April. The Dow was up 7.1% week to date. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up 7.4% and 9%, respectively, over that time period.
Facebook and Amazon both gained more than 2%. Netflix, Apple and Microsoft each closed more than 3% higher. Shares of Facebook have also gained 12% this week. Amazon and Apple have risen 9.4% and 9.3%, respectively, over that time period while Microsoft has popped 10.3%.
Investors in this high growth sector cheered a potential divided government as it likely means taxes won’t go up, antitrust scrutiny could stay in check and the China trade war doesn’t get any worse.
Meanwhile, the Democrats were projected to retain control of the House, while flipping the Senate became increasingly unlikely.
However, some strategists noted that a contested election, which is not off the table at this point, could lead to a sharp drop in stocks over the short-term.
Reference: CNBC
Thai
Eng