US close: Stocks finish firmer as Biden enters White House

Wall Street stocks closed in positive territory on Wednesday, as new president Joe Biden was sworn into office.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.83% at 31,188.38, the S&P 500 added 1.39% to 3,851.85, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.97% to 13,457.25.

The Dow closed 257.86 points higher on Wednesday, extending gains recorded on Donald Trump's last full day in the Oval Office.

Wednesday's primary focus was Biden's inauguration as the 46th president of the United States, with him making a speech focussing on the need to bring the US together following the violent riot on Capitol Hill earlier in the month.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said traders were in risk-on mode, given Biden’s keenness to stimulate the US economy.

“Last week, he announced a $1.9trn relief package, but the spending won’t stop there as he also has big infrastructure, energy and education investment plans,” he said.

“There is a view in the markets that more spending is in the pipeline, after all, Mr Biden will want to start his presidency on a positive note.”

Turning to the Covid-19 pandemic, the US had now recorded more than 24.8m cases of the coronavirus, claiming the lives of more than 411,500 Americans in the process.

On the macro front, mortgage applications in the US fell 1.9% in the week ended 15 January, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Applications to refinance a home loan dropped 4.7%, but were up 87% year-on-year, while those to purchase a home rose 2.7% and were 15% higher than a year ago.

Elsewhere, homebuilder confidence unexpectedly fell in January, dragged down by rising Covid-19 cases and increased lumber prices.

The National Association of Housebuilders/Wells Fargo housing market index slipped to a reading of 83, down from 86 in December, short of expectations for a flat month-on-month reading of 86.

In the corporate space, Procter & Gamble shares reversed earlier gains to close down 1.25%, after the consumer goods giant raised its forecast as its earnings topped expectations.

Netflix soared 16.85% after the streaming giant hit 200 million subscribers, and said it was considering share buybacks.

Bank of New York Mellon skyrocketed down 7.25% after it said its quarterly profits had fallen on lower revenues, while Morgan Stanley slipped 0.24% after posting record profits on the back of a blowout trading quarter.

UnitedHealth slipped 0.38% even after it topped its fourth-quarter guidance and reaffirmed guidance for 2021, while United Airlines gained 0.96%, ahead of its earnings due after the closing bell.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $224.34 3.65%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $131.97 3.24%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $142.80 2.53%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $213.63 2.17%
Visa Inc. (V) $206.01 2.16%
American Express Co. (AXP) $128.94 1.73%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $145.51 1.48%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $49.53 1.41%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $58.67 1.17%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $145.02 1.05%

Dow Jones - Fallers

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $135.97 -1.50%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $290.47 -1.27%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $131.93 -1.25%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $192.34 -0.89%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $82.46 -0.88%
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $68.84 -0.75%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $36.50 -0.63%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $350.84 -0.38%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $162.38 -0.25%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $48.09 -0.12%

S&P 500 - Risers

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $586.34 16.85%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $10.86 8.38%
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $21.57 6.52%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $46.69 6.09%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $82.53 5.48%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $122.79 5.46%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $1,886.90 5.36%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $1,880.07 5.36%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $75.11 5.33%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $3,263.38 4.57%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Bank Of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) $42.49 -7.27%
US Bancorp (USB) $45.58 -5.18%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $11.30 -3.58%
Macerich Co (MAC) $14.07 -3.50%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $48.70 -3.41%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $304.33 -3.10%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $563.10 -2.92%
Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $251.04 -2.92%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $180.19 -2.73%
Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $94.80 -2.63%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $586.34 16.85%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $1,886.90 5.36%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $1,880.07 5.36%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $3,263.38 4.57%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $95.31 4.56%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $260.90 4.18%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $207.03 4.18%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,984.68 3.74%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $224.34 3.65%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $403.54 3.42%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $48.70 -3.41%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $304.33 -3.10%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $563.10 -2.92%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $83.50 -2.34%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $132.58 -2.05%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $94.71 -1.64%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $56.17 -1.42%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $107.84 -1.26%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $270.50 -1.22%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $244.26 -1.21%