The Washington Post-U.S. markets post big gains as Joe Biden’s Super Tuesday surge offers coronavirus respite

On the eve of Super Tuesday, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. received endorsements from Pete Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke.CreditCredit…Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq swell after a protracted run of volatility.

Pic added by The non-Conformist to further prove a point!

The fix is in

U.S. stock markets surged Wednesday after Joe Biden’s Super Tuesday run made him a formidable moderate counterweight to Sen. Bernie Sanders’s economically disruptive proposals in the Democratic presidential race. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day up nearly 1,200 points, or more than 4.5 percent.

The rebound comes amid an especially volatile window of trading, with coronavirus panic spawning a brutal sell-off that had erased trillions in value from global markets. On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve delivered its first emergency rate cut since the 2008 financial crisis — bringing the benchmark down 50 basis points. But the central bank’s move seemed to reinforce panic on Tuesday, rather than easing it, sending the three major U.S. indexes down and landing them back in correction territory.

Yet on Wednesday, it became clearer that the former vice president had captured primary wins in 10 states, including Texas, a showing that propelled him to the front of the field. Sanders may still score the day’s biggest prize, California, where he is leading.

“Bernie Sanders’ socialist program includes lots of proposals to increase taxes and regulations, which would weigh on the economy and corporate earnings,” said Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research. “The market’s sell-off last week on Sanders’ primary victories and rebound on Monday after Biden’s big win in South Carolina and this morning after Super Tuesday suggest that domestic U.S. politics may matter as much as the global health crisis to investors.”

The Dow surged hundreds of points in the final minutes of the session, closing at 27,091, up 1,173 points on the day. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index finished up 4.22 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed with a 3.85 percent gain. Mike Bloomberg’s retreat from the Democratic presidential primary and a report showing unexpected growth in the U.S. service sector added to Wall Street’s feel-good vibe.

“Investors are shifting from the coronavirus to politics, and the market knows how to play politics better than the virus,” said Howard Silverblatt of S&P Dow Jones Indices. “But stocks could turn on a dime if there is a new memo on the coronavirus.”(By Taylor Telford, Thomas Heath)

Posted by The non-Conformist

TheConfirmationFiles

INFORMATION IS POWER!

The Washington Post-U.S. markets post big gains as Joe Biden’s Super Tuesday surge offers coronavirus respite

Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq swell after a protracted run of volatility.

Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq swell after a protracted run of volatility.

Share this: