On 4 December, all four major U.S. stock indices set new record highs, driven by euphoria over the prospect of COVID vaccines’ distribution and resumption of stimulus negotiations between Congress and the Trump administration.
The Dow gained 1 percent on the day, closing at 30,218.26. The NASDAQ rose 2.1 percent to 12,464.23. The Russell index bumped up 2 percent 1,882.14, and the S&P climbed 1.7 percent to close at 3,699.12.
It was the first time since January 2018 that the Dow, NASDAQ, Russell 2000 small-cap index, and S&P 500 set records on the same day, according to Dow Jones Market Data reported in the Wall Street Journal.
“As grim as the pandemic news may be over the next three or four months, the vaccine at the end of the tunnel will probably mean that the markets overlook that grim news,” George Ball, CEO of the Sanders Morris Harris investment firm, commented to the Journal.
Markets shrugged off November’s weak jobs report as well as a recent survey showing consumer confidence ebbing. Investors drew encouragement from president-elect Joe Biden’s selection of Janet Yellin to lead the U.S. Treasury Department, analysts agree.
Yellin has voiced support for continued economic stimulus and shown comfort with a continuation, at least for now, of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s low interest rates.
In a 3 December CNN interview, Biden also said he will keep the economy open and will not order another shutdown.
TRENDPOST: As we keep noting, stock prices are floating on optimism and the Fed’s cheap money. Increasingly, analysts are in alignment with us that a sharp market correction is on the way.
