Dow opens up 133 points as markets look beyond US Capitol siege

The major United States stock indexes opened higher on Thursday, as investors continued to look beyond the storming of the US Capitol on Wednesday by supporters of President Donald Trump.

While Wednesday’s chaos in Washington saw US stocks move off of session highs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average still managed to finish in record territory.

The 30-share index continued its advance on Thursday, jumping more than 133 points at the open of trading on Wall Street to 30,962.95.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.70 percent at the open, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.02 percent.

Speculation abounds as to why the stock market continues to move higher in the face of Wednesday’s events.

Before the violence unfolded in Washington, investors were betting that Congress would fall under Democratic control, significantly enhancing President-elect Joe Biden’s chances of winning another round of stimulus from lawmakers to help US households and businesses ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the markets closed, the Associated Press declared Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff the winner in his Senate runoff election in Georgia – sealing Democratic control over both houses of Congress.

In the early hours of Thursday, Congress certified the Electoral College victory of Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

And later, White House spokesman Dan Scavino posted a statement from President Trump on Twitter promising there would be an “orderly transition” of power on January 20th.

Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Electoral Certification:

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our…

— Dan Scavino🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) January 7, 2021

 

Whether it is faith in the resilience of US democratic institutions, computer-driven trading algorithms robotically responding to data variations, or investors simply focusing on the prospects for more growth-boosting virus relief aid, stocks keep climbing.

But while the markets seemed to shrug off Wednesday’s siege in Washington, US business leaders are not.

On Wednesday, Jay Timmons, the president of the National Association of Manufacturers that represents 14,000 firms including giants like ExxonMobil, urged US lawmakers to consider invoking the US Constitution’s 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office.

The Business Roundtable, an association that counts the most powerful CEOs in corporate America among its members, called on Trump and “all relevant officials to put an end to the chaos and to facilitate the peaceful transition of power”.

Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive of JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, also called for a peaceful transition to power.

And social media giants Twitter and Facebook temporarily suspended President Trump’s accounts.