US stocks close higher on ‘broad-based’ rally
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Traders working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON - US stocks closed higher on Jan 17 to end a busy week of corporate results, on the last trading day before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan 20.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.8 per cent at 43,487.83, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 1 per cent to 5,996.66.
The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.5 per cent to 19,630.20, buoyed by a rise in tech stocks.
The increase in stocks on Jan 17 is the result of a “very broad-based rally,” Mr Steve Sosnick, of Interactive Brokers, told AFP.
Among individual firms, Intel surged 9.2 per cent, while chip titan Nvidia was up 3.1 per cent.
“The sentiment in the market has changed dramatically,” Mr Sosnick said. “I think this seems to be a bit of enthusiasm for the so-called Trump trade ahead of Monday’s inauguration.”
The Republican president-elect won November’s election on a pledge to boost the US economy by cutting red tape and taxes, and boosting US domestic energy production.
But his pledges to hike tariffs on goods entering the United States and deport millions of undocumented workers have also raised concern about the possible impact on growth and inflation. AFP
