U.S. Stocks Close Sharply Higher; Dow Settles Above 30k Mark

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks ended on an upbeat note on Tuesday, reacting to news about the President-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House.

The Dow sped past a milestone of 30,000 for the first ever time, and more importantly, held gains and finished above that mark.

The recent encouraging updates on the coronavirus vaccine front continued to aid sentiment. There were concerns about continued spikes in new coronavirus cases in several states across the country, but traders still chose to pick up stocks, hoping the situation will turn for the better once the vaccines start to arrive.

Also, the market appeared to be hoping that a new administration at White House will decide on a fiscal stimulus soon and begin efforts to put the economy back on track.

Data showing a drop in consumer confidence did hurt sentiment, but did not deter traders from picking up stocks.

The major averages all ended with strong gains. The Dow ended up 454.64 points or 1.54 percent at 30,045.91, settling above the coveted 30,000 mark for the first time ever. The S&P 500 surged up 57.84 points or 1.62 percent to settle at 3,635.43, a record closing high, while the Nasdaq climbed 156.15 points or 1.31 percent to finish at 12,036.79.

Chevron (CVX), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), American Express (AXP), Goldman Sachs (GS), General Electric (GE), Boeing (BA), IBM (IBM), Walt Disney (DIS), Travelers Companies (TRV), Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC) ended stronger by 2 to 6 percent.

American Airlines Group (AAL) and United Airlines Holding (UAL) also ended with handsome gains.

The news about the head of the General Services Administration informing Biden that the Trump administration is ready to to begin the formal transition process helped lift sentiment as trading began this morning, and stocks never looked back after opening on firm note.

The development has eliminated some of the lingering uncertainty about the outcome of the presidential election, although President Donald Trump has indicated he will continue to challenge the results in court.

Meanwhile, Biden has picked former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary.

On the economic front, a report from the Conference Board said consumer confidence in the U.S. dropped in November, with the index coming in with a reading of 96.1 for the month, down from a revised reading of 101.4 a month earlier. Economists had expected the reading to come in at 98.0.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly higher on optimism about coronavirus vaccine, and positive news from the U.S. political front.

The major European markets too closed on a buoyant note on Tuesday.