US stocks hit record as Biden calls for more stimulus

Shares hit all-time highs after President-elect Joe Biden said he would present details of trillions of dollars in additional aid to jumpstart the world’s largest economy.
The S&P 500 posted its fourth straight day of gains, led by retailers and real estate companies. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed, with Tesla Inc. advancing for an 11th consecutive session. Meanwhile, the KBW banking index halted a rally that pushed the gauge up by more than 10% in three days. The miners joined a massive sale of gold and silver.
In a week marked by a siege on the U.S. Capitol and a Democratic sweep of Congress, all major stock indexes set record highs as investors focused on the prospect of more tax assistance. Biden appealed for more help – including US $ 2,000 stimulus checks – after a grim jobs report in December. The drop of 140,000 payrolls has highlighted the extent to which the surge in coronavirus infections is taking a greater toll on parts of the economy.
“Biden was talking about more stimulus,” said Jonathan Boyar, chief executive of BoyarValue. “The sooner we see the two sides acting together constructively, the better. “
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the country’s top military officer has assured his safeguards are in place in case President Donald Trump seeks to launch a nuclear strike – something he has the sole power to make. Pelosi and Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer are calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to have the cabinet remove Trump from office for his encouragement to the crowd that stormed the United States Capitol on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida has said he does not expect the central bank to start cutting asset purchases this year despite an expected strengthening in the economy. as the pandemic subsides. A few policymakers, including Chicago Fed Chairman Charles Evans and Atlanta’s Raphael Bostic, said this week that they could support the reduction in the pace of buying by year-end if the economy rebounded quite strongly.
Here are some of the main movements in the markets:
Actions
- The S&P 500 gained about 0.5% at 4 p.m. New York time.
- The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.7%.
- The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index gained 2 percent.
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1%.
- The euro fell 0.4 percent to US $ 1.2225.
- The Japanese yen depreciated 0.1% to 103.95 per dollar.
Obligations
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed four basis points to 1.12%.
- The German 10-year yield rose less than a basis point to -0.52%.
- The UK 10-year yield rose less than a basis point to 0.288%.
Merchandise
- West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 3.5% to US $ 52.60 per barrel.
- Gold fell 3.5 percent to US $ 1,847.89 an ounce.
–With help from Sunil Jagtiani, Cormac Mullen, Yakob Peterseil, Robert Brand, Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric.