Stocks Hit Record as Biden Calls for More Stimulus: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks climbed to all-time highs after President-elect Joe Biden said he'll lay out the details of trillions of dollars in further aid to revive the world's largest economy.

The S&P 500 notched its fourth straight day of gains, led by retailers and real-estate companies. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed, with Tesla Inc. surging for an 11th consecutive session. Meanwhile, the KBW Bank Index halted a rally that drove the gauge up more than 10% in three days. Miners joined a selloff in gold and silver. The dollar rose.

In a week marked by a siege of the U.S. Capitol and a Democratic sweep of Congress, all major equity benchmarks notched records as investors focused on the prospect for more fiscal aid. Biden made the call for new assistance -- including $2,000 stimulus checks -- after a dismal December jobs report. The 140,000 slump in payrolls highlighted how surging coronavirus infections are taking a greater toll on parts of the economy.

“Biden was talking about more stimulus,” said Jonathan Boyar, managing director at BoyarValue. “The sooner we see both parties acting together in a constructive manner, the better.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the nation's top military officer assured her safeguards are in place in case President Donald Trump seeks to initiate a nuclear strike -- something he has the sole authority to do. Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer are calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to have the cabinet remove Trump from office over his encouragement of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said he doesn't expect the central bank to begin tapering its asset purchases this year. A few policy makers, including Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Atlanta's Raphael Bostic, said this week they might support reducing the pace of buying by year-end if the economy bounces back strongly enough.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 gained about 0.5% at 4 p.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.7%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 2%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.1%.
• The euro decreased 0.4% to $1.2225.
• The Japanese yen depreciated 0.1% to 103.95 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed four basis points to 1.12%.
• Germany's 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to -0.52%.
• Britain's 10-year yield rose less than one basis point to 0.288%.

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 3.5% to $52.60 a barrel.
• Gold fell 3.5% to $1,847.89 an ounce.

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