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EconomyGlobal markets

Wall Street jumps as Dow gains 1,131 points after Democrats win Congress

US shares surged in the first half hour of trading on Wednesday as investors welcomed a clear midterm result, with Amazon, Microsoft and Apple leading the big gainers.

From the editorial desk · New YorkPublished
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (file photo)
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (file photo)Photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Key points

  1. The Dow was up 1,131 points, or 2.2%, half an hour into trading.
  2. Amazon rose more than 8%, with Microsoft and Apple up over 6%.
  3. Gold climbed nearly 3% to above $4,050 an ounce before the open.

Wall Street rallied hard at the open on Wednesday, a day after Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the US midterm elections, as investors cheered a clear result and an end to weeks of uncertainty.

Half an hour into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1,131 points, or 2.2%. The S&P 500 gained 1.6% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 2%. Treasury yields fell. President Donald Trump’s acceptance of the results added to the relief.

The biggest companies did the heavy lifting. Amazon rose more than 8%, Microsoft gained 6.7% and Apple 6.3%, while Alphabet added 5%. Nvidia was the odd one out, slipping half a per cent.

Results drove the sharpest single moves. Duolingo jumped about 31% after strong quarterly numbers and a raised forecast. Telecom software company Amdocs fell about 30% after a weak outlook tied to a legal dispute with T-Mobile, and payments firm FIS lost 22% after cutting its full-year forecast.

Investors also bought safe assets earlier in the day. Gold climbed nearly 3% to $4,052.90 an ounce before the open, and Brent crude traded around $102 a barrel, lower on signs of easing tension between the US and Iran.

Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the political shift. “A change in congressional control does not necessarily translate into an immediate change in economic policy,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

For Indian investors, the strong night in New York sets the tone for Thursday’s start on Dalal Street, where the Sensex closed higher on Wednesday for a fifth straight session.