US markets end higher on Thursday

08 Jan 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Thursday as US lawmakers certified President-elect Joe Biden's victory after the process was delayed by several hours as supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol building. After the Capitol building was finally secured, several Republican lawmakers abandoned plans to object to the certification of results from a number of states, although GOP opposition still led to a drawn out process. Trump said in a statement following the vote that there would be an orderly transition of power to Biden but continued his fraudulent claims of widespread voter fraud that helped spark the riot at the Capitol. The certification of Biden's victory along with Democratic victories in Georgia's Senate runoff elections will give Democrats control of the House, Senate and the White House.

Traders seem optimistic a Democratic-controlled government will lead to additional stimulus, but with the narrow margin in the Senate preventing major tax hikes or other policies that negatively affect big business. Buying interest was also generated in reaction to a report from the Labor Department unexpectedly showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits in the week ended January 2. The report said initial jobless claims edged down to 787,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 790,000. Street had expected jobless claims to rise to 800,000 from the 787,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 211.73 points or 0.69 percent to 31,041.13, Nasdaq rose 326.69 points or 2.56 percent to 13,067.48 and S&P 500 was up by 55.65 points or 1.48 percent 3,803.79.

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