Wall Street rallies again on Democratic wins, stimulus hopes | Nation
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A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A currency trader talks on the phone at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

People walk past an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

People walk past an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A man walks past an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A woman stands near an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm as a car passes by in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A man looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 and New York Dow indexes at a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

People stand near an electronic stock board showing Japan’s Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A man walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

People walk past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Thursday day, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A woman walks past a bank’s electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange Thursday day, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

FILE – In this Oct. 14, 2020 file photo, pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Stocks are getting back to rallying on Wall Street after Congress, in a late-night session, certified Democrat Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% in the early going Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 on its way to another record high.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is climbing to new heights again Thursday on expectations that the Democratic sweep of Washington means more stimulus is likely on the way for the economy.
The S&P 500 was 1.2% higher in the first trading after Congress confirmed Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election and Jon Ossoff was declared the winner of a Georgia runoff election, tipping control of the Senate to Democrats. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 172 points, or 0.6%, at 31,005, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.8% higher.
They add to gains from a day before, when the S&P 500 had been on track to set a record high after Raphael Warnock was declared the winner of the first of two Georgia runoffs and expectations built for a Democratically controlled D.C. Investors and analysts are anticipating Congress to try to deliver $2,000 checks to most Americans, increase spending on infrastructure and take other measures to nurse the economy amid the worsening pandemic.
Markets gave up much of their early gains on Wednesday, though, after loyalists to President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as lawmakers were confirming his loss. But the S&P 500 is back above its record set at the end of 2020 as investors look past the current political ugliness — and the worsening pandemic around the world — and focus on prospects for an improving economy in the future.