U.S. stocks continued their post-election rally on Friday, notching more record highs with the Dow and S&P 500 putting in their best weekly performance all year.
The blue-chip Dow closed up 259.65 points, or 0.59%, to a record high 43,988.99, and the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished up 22.44 points, or 0.38%, to an all-time high of 5,995.54. The S&P 500 and Dow are both about 4.7% higher for the week and on track for their best week since November 2023.
The tech-laden Nasdaq ended the trading day up 17.32 points, or 0.09%, at 19,286.78, just off its new record high of 19,318.56 reached during the day. For the week, the Nasdaq is up 5.7%.
Stocks rallied strongly on Wednesday on hopes President-elect Donald Trump would push through tax cuts and deregulation, analysts said. The climb continued Thursday after the Federal Reserve trimmed its short-term, benchmark fed funds rate by a quarter-percentage point and suggested there may be more easing ahead, though the timing was uncertain. On Friday, stocks got another shot of good news after the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey jumped more than expected to 73.0 in November from 70.5 in October, and inflation expectations fell to the lowest since December 2020.
“Sentiment jumped in November while near-term inflation expectations dipped, creating a potential Goldilocks scenario,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The surge in stocks could take a breather here and there, but many analysts expect more near-term upside, especially if Republicans also win both chambers of Congress. Republicans have already won a majority in the Senate. Votes are still being counted in the House of Representatives, but many believe Republicans will hold onto their slim majority.
“On the back of the Republican sweep, our sense is that the fallout from the U.S. election can continue (to) be the catalyst that drives markets,” said Mark Dowding, BlueBay chief investment officer at RBC Global Asset Management.
Trump’s win also appeared to lure some sidelined money into the market, data indicates.
Automated investment platform Wealthfront said its new stock investing accounts were up 146% the day after the election compared to Election Day, and dollars deposited into stock investing accounts increased by 286%. Transfers into automated investing accounts surged by 433% compared to Election Day, too, it said.
Overall, $20 billion flowed into U.S. equity funds the day after Trump’s decisive win for the largest one-day addition in five months, according to Bank of America strategists.
