MTS Help Center

· Dow soars more than 1,100 points as market rallies off Biden win, UnitedHealth pops 10%

Stocks surged on Wednesday as major victories from former Vice President Joe Biden during Super Tuesday sparked a massive rally within the health-care sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,173.45 points higher, or 4.5%, to 27,090.86. The S&P 500 jumped 4.2% to 3,130.12, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 3.8% to 9,018.09. The Dow posted its second-highest point gain ever, and it was the second time in three days that the 30-stock average swung 1,000 points or higher.

With Wednesday’s rally, all three major averages moved out of correction territory, meaning they are now less than 10% down from their 52-week highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also turned positive on the year, up 0.5%in 2020.

Biden scored key primary victories in states including North Carolina, Texas and Arkansas, giving his campaign momentum and increasing his odds of being the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. Many investors applaud Biden for his middle-of-the-road tack in contrast to the more progressive policies of Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

The major averages also got a boost from strong economic data. The U.S. services sector expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in February, data from the Institute for Supply Management showed. ADP and Moody’s Analytics said private payrolls jumped by 183,000 last month, topping expectations. Lawmakers also struck a deal on more than $8 billion in emergency coronavirus funding.

“Investors fear Bernie because he wants to cut off the head of capitalism by raising taxes significantly on the rich and using the funds to provide free everything to everybody else,” said Ed Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, in a note. “Getting everything for free trumps freedom, according to Bernie. No wonder investors are reacting to him as though he is going to infect us all with the virus of socialism.”

· European markets close higher as investors monitor virus spread and hope for stimulus

European markets closed higher Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s surprise rate cut stirred hopes other major central banks could follow suit.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed over 1% higher. Utilities stocks led the gains, jumping over 3%, while travel and leisure shares bucked the trend to fall 2%.

· Asia stocks rise following Dow’s big gains overnight; IMF announces $50 billion package to fight coronavirus

Stocks in Asia traded higher Thursday morning after the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 1,000 points overnight stateside.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also announced a $50 billion aid package on Wednesday to combat the impact of the coronavirus. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told CNBC the money is available “immediately” and is for low-income and emerging market countries.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.86% as shares of index heavyweight and conglomerate Softbank Group jumped more than 1%. The Topix index also traded 0.67% higher.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.32% as shares of LG Chem soared more than 3%.

Meanwhile, shares in Australia were higher in morning trade, as the S&P/ASX 200 jumped more than 1.5%. Australia’s January trade data is expected to be released around 8:30 a.m. HK/SIN on Thursday.

Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.26% higher.

Reference: Reuters, CNBC