TSE – Dow Closes at Record as Trump Supporters Storm Capitol
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record Wednesday as the U.S. Capitol was locked down after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed past barricades and breached the building.
President-Elect Joe Biden condemned the mob attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol, saying “our democracy is under unprecedented assault.”
“I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege,” Biden said.
Trump had earlier called on his supporters to “remain peaceful,” but he did not urge them to disperse, AP reported.
Vice President Mike Pence had been escorted off the Senate floor during the count of the Electoral College votes certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a curfew in the district from 6 p.m. till 6 a.m. Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that the D.C. National Guard was being activated for tasks possibly including helping enforce the curfew.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a joint statement calling on Trump to “demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately,” AP reported.
Several Republican lawmakers called upon Trump to call for an end to the violence, NBC reported.
“Mr. President @realDonaldTrump the men & women of law enforcement are under assault. It is crucial you help restore order by sending resources to assist the police and ask those doing this to stand down,” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
The Dow closed up 437 points, or 1.44%, to 30,829 and the S&P 500 gained 0.57% to 3,748.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 reached record intraday highs.
The Nasdaq finished down 0.61% to 12,740 after falling sharply earlier in the session on concern that big technology companies could face tougher antitrust scrutiny under a Democratic-Party-controlled Congress.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note hit 1% for the first time since March.
The AP has called the second Georgia runoff race for Democrat Jon Ossoff against Republican Sen. David Perdue.
Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, earlier had been declared the winner of his race against Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in the state.
The elections in Georgia have given the Democrats control of Congress and enabled them to push Biden’s legislative agenda.
The Democrats in the Senate are on even footing with Republicans, enabling Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to cast the deciding vote in any 50-50 tie.
Analysts say a swing to the Democrats could lead to greater fiscal stimulus and higher taxes. Just one Republican win in Georgia would have given the GOP enough votes to block Biden from pursuing his more ambitious policies on trade, energy and security.
“Stock markets have been moving higher for the past few months, and it is more likely that we see a sector rotation within the market rather than a sustained selloff in the result that the Democrats take full control of government,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.
Federal Reserve officials, in the minutes of its meeting from December, unanimously backed keeping the central bank’s pace of bond buying steady.
“All participants judged that it would be appropriate to continue those purchases at least at the current pace, and nearly all favored maintaining the current composition of purchases,” according to the minutes of the meeting.
Private payrolls at U.S. companies unexpectedly fell by 123,000 during December, the first decline since April, as the coronavirus pandemic crimped hiring, particularly in the leisure and hospitality and retail industries.
TSE – Dow Closes at Record as Trump Supporters Storm Capitol
