S&P 500 posts record high close, Trump-linked stocks advance

NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes notched record high closes on Monday, lifted by stocks expected to benefit from Republican president-elect Donald Trump’s potential fiscal policies.

Tesla’s stock market value surged 9% to over US$1.1 trillion, fuelled by bets the automaker will benefit from CEO Elon Musk’s close ties to Trump. Several other stocks also added to gains they have made since Trump won the election, as traders expect them to benefit from his return to the White House.

The S&P 500 financial index rallied 1.4%, with banks helping lift the Dow to its highest ever, lifted by gains in Wells Fargo & Co and JPMorgan.

The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 1.5% to its highest since November 2021. Smaller companies are viewed as potential beneficiaries from Trump’s proposed tax cuts and expected looser regulations.

Microsoft, Amazon and Meta Platforms each dipped about 1%.

The S&P 500 has rallied almost 4% since Trump’s victory last Tuesday, while the Nasdaq has gained almost 5%.

The S&P 500 information technology index retreated almost 1% and the PHLX chip index fell 2.5%, with AI heavyweight Nvidia giving back recent gains and ending down 1.6%.

“It’s been a wild four days since the election and the market is taking a breath,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “But the trend is moving higher. I would not be surprised if the Trump rally bleeds into a Santa Claus rally.”

All three major Wall Street indexes climbed to record high closes. The S&P 500 rose 0.10% to end the session at 6,001.35 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.06% to 19,298.76 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.69% to 44,293.13 points.

Volume on US exchanges was heavy, with 15.4 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 12.8 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

Crypto stocks rallied as bitcoin soared to a record US$87,000. Coinbase Global jumped 20%, and bitcoin miners MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms jumped 30% and 17%, respectively.

Investors are watching consumer price inflation data, due Wednesday, and a raft of other key data this week for signals on the economy and monetary policy outlook.

The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points last week, and interest rate futures imply traders see a 65% chance of another 25 basis point cut at the central bank’s December meeting, according to CME FedWatch.

“With policymakers already so cautious about the risk of renewed price pressures, particularly amid the continued strength of the US economy, the Fed will need to tread a cautious path,” warned Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.5-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 117 new highs and 7 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 363 new highs and 86 new lows.