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Stocks jumped on Thursday on hopes the winner of the U.S. presidential election would soon be determined.
The Dow Jones Industrials hurtled skyward 572.33 points, or 2.1%, to 28,419.99.
The S&P 500 jumped 73.28 points, or 2.1%, to 3,516.72.
The NASDAQ screamed higher 253.53 points, or 2.2%, to 11,844.32.
Shares of major tech-related companies led the gains on Thursday. Facebook and Alphabet both traded more than 2% higher. Amazon, Microsoft and Apple gained more than 3% each.
Those gains put the major averages on pace for their biggest weekly gains since April. The Dow was up more than 6% week to date. The S&P 500 advancing 7.1%, and NASDAQ vaulting 8.2%, over that time period.
Those gains put those names up sharply over the past two days. Investors in this high growth sector cheered a potential divided government as it likely means taxes won’t go up, antitrust scrutiny could stay in check and the China trade war doesn’t get any worse.
Sentiment on Thursday also got a boost from better-than-expected earnings out of Qualcomm and General Motors. Qualcomm’s stock popped more than 11%. General Motors shares gained 3.4%.
Investors also awaited the latest monetary policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. The central bank is expected to keep overnight rates near zero and to reiterate the need for more fiscal stimulus as the economy continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Late Wednesday, media projected that former Vice President Joe Biden was the winner in Wisconsin and Michigan, both states that President Donald Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Biden would then be just 17 Electoral College votes away from winning
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 0.77%.
Oil prices nosed up 10 cents to $39.25 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $52.50 to $1,948.70.
