Current:Home > ScamsStocks surge to record highs as Trump returns to presidency -ProfitQuest Academy
Stocks surge to record highs as Trump returns to presidency
View
Date:2025-04-18 07:43:38
- All three major indexes hit record highs
- Trump-linked stocks, Tesla jump
- Market volatility gauge falls sharply
- Shares of small-cap companies soar
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rallied sharply to close at record highs on Wednesday after Republican Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election in a stunning comeback four years after being voted out of the White House.
The Dow Industrials, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each ended at record levels with investors expecting lower taxes, deregulation and a U.S. president who is not shy to weigh in on everything from the stock market to the dollar, although fresh tariffs could bring challenges in the form of a higher deficit and inflation.
The Republican's win powered a rally in so-called "Trump trades," sending U.S. Treasury yields sharply higher, with the benchmark 10-year note yield hitting a four-month high of 4.479%. Bitcoin hit a record high of over $75,000 and the dollar was on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain since September 2022.
Polls indicated a very tight race, with some concern the process could be drawn out before a victor was declared.
"Investors were kind of portfolio jockeying to score up some of their risk exposure in anticipation of an outcome that was going into it, seemingly a toss-up," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.
Invest wisely: Best online brokers
More:Lock in a mortgage rate after the Fed cuts? This might be your last chance
"And obviously, it turned very quickly and led to a very much risk-on day today in which anything that isn't tied to the ground from a cyclical or pro-growth standpoint is absolutely launching."
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 145.04 points, or 2.51%, to end at 5,927.80 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 539.48 points, or 2.93%, to 18,978.65. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,504.51 points, or 3.56%, to 43,726.39.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 registered their biggest one-day percentage gains since November 2022.
More:Who are the billionaires, business leaders who might shape a second Trump presidency?
Financials jumped as the best performing of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors. Banks, expected to benefit from loosening regulations under Trump, powered the gains, with the S&P 500 bank index up about 10%, its biggest daily jump in two years.
The small-cap Russell 2000 rallied to a three-year high, with the domestically concentrated stocks seen as likely to benefit from easier regulations, lower taxes and less exposure to import tariffs. However, rising Treasury yields could hurt smaller companies, which tend to rely heavily on borrowing and are more sensitive to higher interest rates.
"This move up in interest rates ... if it doesn't stall out here somewhere around this 4.4%, 4.5% level or so, and we start to retest those levels we saw last October of 5%, that could not only put small caps, but the market itself on its heels," said Luschini.
The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as Wall Street's "Fear Gauge," dropped fell to a six-week low of 15.44.
The rate-sensitive real estate and utilities sectors were among the day's few decliners as investors assessed the chances of Trump's policies boosting inflation and altering the Federal Reserve's path of interest rates, which has been a key component of Wall Street's recent rally.
The central bank is widely expected to ease the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points at its policy-setting meeting ending on Thursday. However, traders have begun to trim bets for a cut in December and the number of reductions expected next year, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
Stocks viewed as likely to perform well under a second Trump term also advanced, with Trump Media & Technology Group in very volatile trading while Tesla leapt as CEO Elon Musk has supported Trump in his electoral campaign.
Strong gains were also made by shares of cryptocurrency companies, energy firms and prison operators, while renewable energy shares fell.
Markets were also eyeing whether the Republican Party could maintain a majority in the House of Representatives after gaining control of the U.S. Senate, which would lead to less opposition to a Trump agenda.
Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Richard Chang
(This story has been updated with new information.)
veryGood! (995)
Related
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Rhode Island lawmakers approve bill to ban “captive hunting” operations
- Goldie Hawn says her and Kurt Russell's home was burglarized twice
- Tori Spelling Calls Out the Haters While Celebrating Son Finn's Graduation
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Inflation eases slightly ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision
- Steve Bannon seeks to stay out of prison while he appeals contempt of Congress conviction
- Senate Democrats to bring up Supreme Court ethics bill amid new revelations
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- U.S. lifts weapons and training ban on Ukraine's Azov Brigade
Ranking
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Prosecutors in Georgia election case against Trump seek to keep Willis on the case
- Ukrainian winemakers visit California’s Napa Valley to learn how to heal war-ravaged vineyards
- ACLU and migrant rights groups sue over Biden's asylum crackdown
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Blue Cross of North Carolina Decided Against an Employee Screening of a Documentary That Links the State’s Massive Hog Farms to Public Health Ills
- Newly deciphered manuscript is oldest written record of Jesus Christ's childhood, experts say
- Tomorrow X Together on third US tour, Madison Square Garden shows: 'Where I live my dream'
Recommendation
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
Goldie Hawn Reveals She and Kurt Russell Experienced 2 Home Invasions in 4 Months
Anthony Michael Hall is loving 'Ms. Rachel,' cites this John Hughes movie as his favorite
Inside right-wing Israeli attacks on Gaza aid convoys, who's behind them, and who's suffering from them
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
'Grey's Anatomy' star Sara Ramírez files to divorce estranged husband after 12 years of marriage
Rare white bison calf reportedly born in Yellowstone National Park: A blessing and warning
Caitlin Clark is part of the culture wars. It's not her fault. It's everyone else's.