Dow tops 44,000 for the first time as Wall Street fueled by Trump win

The S&P 500 briefly surpassed the 6,000 mark and closed with its biggest weekly percentage gain in a year, while the Dow topped 44,000 for the first time, as Donald Trump’s election victory and a possible Republican Party sweep in Congress fueled expectations for favorable business policies.

Also supporting stocks this week was a widely expected interest rate cut of 25 basis points by the Federal Reserve on Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 259.65 points, or 0.6%, to close at an all-time high of 43,988.99, eclipsing its record of 43,729.93 on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 gained 0.4% closing at a record of 5,995.54 — its 50th of the year — and the Nasdaq rose less than 1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their fourth straight session of gains.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials had their best weekly percentage jump since early November 2023, and the Nasdaq recorded its best in two months and second-best week of 2024.

Investors were also monitoring a likely “Red Sweep” as Republicans were set to keep their narrow lead in the House of Representatives after winning control of the Senate. That would make it easier for Trump to enact his legislative plans.

Expectations for lower corporate taxes and deregulation under Trump have helped push the benchmark S&P index and the Dow to intraday record highs for the three straight sessions.

“It is a psychologically important number but with all the developments this week, it’s just that. It’s just the number,” said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, NC.

“There’s been so many things, so much good news for the market this week as evidenced by the prices, all of that far outweighs whether or not we’re on the right or left hand side of that 6,000 number when the close happens.”

But the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note yield remained near a four-month high, and markets have scaled back expectations for the pace of Fed rate cuts in 2025 as concerns remain over the incoming administration’s proposed tariffs which are likely to rekindle inflation.

US consumer sentiment rose to a seven-month high in early November, with a measure of households’ expectations for the future climbing to the highest in more than three years, led by brightening outlooks among Republicans, the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index showed.

Airbnb shares dropped more than 8% after the homestay company missed third-quarter profit estimates, while social media company Pinterest slumped 14% after a disappointing revenue forecast.

US-listings of Chinese companies lost ground as the government’s latest fiscal support measures once again failed to impress investors. JD.com and Alibaba both slumped by at least 6%.