Stocks rally to a record as Biden sworn in as president, Netflix soars 16.9%
The stock market rallied to a record close as President Joe Biden was sworn into office, sparking hopes for another stimulus package and smoother vaccine rollout ahead. A slew of strong quarterly results also boosted sentiment, including from Netflix which soared 16.9%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 257.86 points, or 0.8%, to a new closing high of 31,188.38. The S&P 500 advanced 1.4% to a record close of 3,851.85, led by the communication services sector. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped nearly 2% to 13,457.25, notching a fresh record. All three averages also touched their intraday highs during the session.
Netflix soared after the company reported strong subscriber growth and said it’s considering share buybacks. Netflix handily beat estimates for global paid net subscriber additions, reporting 8.5 million versus the 6.47 million analysts anticipated. The company also said it expects to break even on a cash flow basis this year.
Biden was inaugurated to succeed President Donald Trump as the 46th president of the United States. Investors remained hopeful that the 78-year-old Democrat’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan will support the economic recovery and bolster earnings growth. Janet Yellen, Biden’s designated nominee for Treasury Secretary, on Tuesday endorsed higher aid spending and urged lawmakers to “act big.”
“I believe we will be able to turn the page,” said Kristina Hooper, Invesco’s chief global market strategist. “I expect markets to continue to move in expectations of a robust recovery later in 2021 when vaccines are broadly distributed.”
Corporations continued to turn in solid quarterly results as earnings and revenue rebounded from the pandemic lows.
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