The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged over 300 points on Monday, closing at a new all-time high as the post-election rally continued to gain momentum.
The 30-stock index climbed 304 points, or 0.69 per cent, to finish at 44,293.69, marking its first-ever close above 44,000. The S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent to close at 6,001.35, also setting a record by surpassing the 6,000 level for the first time. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite stayed largely flat, edging up just 0.06 per cent to 19,298.76.
JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs led the Dow's rally, gaining 1 per cent and 2.2 per cent, respectively. Bank of America and Citigroup both rose around 2 per cent. The banking sector has seen significant gains since Donald Trump’s election victory, as investors speculate that a return to the White House could lead to less stringent regulations on the industry. In other notable moves, meme stock favourite GameStop surged 10 per cent.
Tesla saw a dramatic rise of over 9 per cent, contributing to its post-election gains. However, the tech sector as a whole was mixed, with Apple falling nearly 2 per cent, while Microsoft and Amazon each lost about 1 per cent.
Small-cap stocks also posted gains, with the Russell 2000 climbing 1.47 per cent.
Among the S&P 500 sectors, Consumer Discretionary led the way, rising 1.75 per cent, while Technology lagged, dropping 0.89 per cent.
In the healthcare space, AbbVie shares plummeted more than 12 per cent after the company announced that its experimental schizophrenia drug had failed to show significant improvement in Phase 2 trials. The news benefited competitor Bristol-Myers Squibb, whose shares soared nearly 12 per cent.
Cigna, meanwhile, rose 7.3 per cent after confirming it would not pursue a merger with Humana.
Super Micro Computer fell 8 per cent following a series of setbacks, including the resignation of its auditor, Ernst & Young, and the release of disappointing unaudited quarterly results.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin surged above $87,000, buoyed by hopes of regulatory relief, with crypto-related stocks like Coinbase and Mara Holdings rising sharply by 20 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.05 per cent rise.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 8.30am was buying 65.73 US cents.
Commodities
Gold has lost 2.42 per cent. Silver has dropped 2.02 per cent. Copper has fallen 1.38 per cent. Oil has lost 3.03 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed higher. London’s FTSE added 0.65 per cent, Frankfurt gained 1.21 per cent, and Paris closed 1.20 per cent higher.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.08 per cent , while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.45 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.51 per cent.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.35 per cent lower at 8266.
Ex-Dividends
National Aust. Bank (ASX:NAB) is paying 85 cents fully franked
GQG Partners (ASX:GQG) is paying 3.7078 cents unfranked
Global Data Grp (ASX:GDC) is paying 93.3535 cents 2.77 per cent franked
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, CNBC, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.
Disclaimer
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