Dow, S&P, Nasdaq close at records as Biden sworn in as 46th U.S. President
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all closed at record highs
Stocks rallied to record highs Wednesday as President Joe Biden was sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43389.6 | -55.39 | -0.13% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5893.62 | +23.00 | +0.39% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18791.806377 | +111.69 | +0.60% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 257 points, or 0.83%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.39% and the Nasdaq Composite was higher by 1.97%.
The advance catapulted all three of the major averages into record territory, adding to the market's strong performance during the four years of the Trump administration.
The S&P 500 rallied 67% over Trump’s tenure. The 13.73% annualized gain was the third-best during a presidency, trailing the index’s performance during only the Clinton (+15.18%) and Obama (+13.84%) presidencies. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, soared 138%, posting the best percentage gain under any president.
TRUMP'S BOOMING STOCK MARKET IN PERIL AS BIDEN ASSUMES PRESIDENCY
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC. | 847.05 | +23.09 | +2.80% |
In stocks, Netflix Inc. added 8.5 million paid subscribers in the final three months of the year, bringing its total subscriber count to more than 200 million for the first time. The streaming giant reported revenue that exceeded Wall Street estimates while earnings fell short.
Morgan Stanley reported earnings and revenue that exceeded analysts’ forecasts, bolstered by strength in investment banking, trading and asset management. This followed a strong quarter from rival Goldman Sachs.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS | MORGAN STANLEY | 133.78 | -0.28 | -0.21% |
| GS | THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. | 587.99 | -5.55 | -0.94% |
UnitedHealth Group said quarterly profit fell 38% from a year ago as costs related to COVID-19 testing and treatments hurt its bottom line.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNH | UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC. | 589.65 | -2.58 | -0.44% |
| PFE | PFIZER INC. | 24.88 | +0.08 | +0.32% |
| BNTX | BIONTECH SE | 101.87 | +2.15 | +2.16% |
Meanwhile, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was found to be effective against the fast-spreading variant of the disease discovered in the U.K. during the final months of last year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMC | AMC ENTERTAINMENT | 4.36 | -0.12 | -2.68% |
Elsewhere, AMC Entertainment received $100 million in secured debt through a deal with Mudrick Capital, giving the movie-theater chain more cash to weather the pandemic. Mudrick already held $100 million of AMC debt.
United Airlines Holdings, Discover Financial Services and Alcoa Corp. were among the companies set to report their quarterly results following Wednesday's closing bell.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HOLDINGS INC. | 90.38 | -0.79 | -0.87% |
| DFS | DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES | 173.22 | -2.85 | -1.62% |
| AA | ALCOA CORP. | 43.98 | -0.04 | -0.09% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil ticked up 26 cents to $53.24 per barrel and gold added $26.40 to $1,865.90 an ounce.
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European markets were higher across the board with Britain’s FTSE 100 up 0.41%, while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.53% and Germany’s DAX 30 rallied 0.77%.
In Asia, markets ended mixed with Japan’s Nikkei 225 sliding 0.38% while China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.47% and 1.08%, respectively.