“Black Friday” got a whole new meaning on Wall Street, as stocks closed at fresh records on optimism about the US economy under the incoming Trump administration.
Major stock indexes ended November by recording their largest monthly gains of the year. The Dow rose nearly 200 points – or 0.42% – close at a record 44,910.65 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.6% to finish the abbreviated trading session at 6,032.38.
It was the second week in a row that the S&P 500 has risen by more than 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% to finish the day at 19,218.17.
President-elect Donald Trump picked ex-Soros money manager and hedge fund mogul Scott Bessent to be his Treasury Secretary. Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick will head the Commerce Department.
Choosing Bessent has soothed fears over Trump’s proposed trade policies which include the imposition of tariffs against products imported from allies Canada and Mexico.
Trump also appears poised to usher in a new era of deregulation, which is expected to benefit industries such as banking, finance and cryptocurrency.
“The markets are clearly signaling the excitement of a potential lowering of the corporate tax rates, the pick of Bessent for Treasury Secretary, and the future policies to come around cryptocurrency,” Ted Jenkin, founder of the Atlanta-based financial planning firm OxyGEN Financial, told The Post.
Trump has signaled that a key element of his economic policy will be to extend several tax cuts that he signed during his first term in office, including the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is set to expire in 2026.
The president-elect will aim to lower individual income tax rates and to expand income and capital gains tax brackets so that it would require a higher threshold of income in order for filers to be taxed at a higher rate.
Overall, the S&P 500 rose 5.7% in November – its best month this year. During the now-concluded four-week period, investors poured $141 billion into US equities – the most in a one-month span on record.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency being traded on the market, hit a record high of more than $97,370 on Friday.
Investors are also happy to have the uncertainty surrounding the election behind them.
“Investors are pleased with a pro business agenda… and, historically, Thanksgiving week is a good week to begin with,” Ken Mahoney, president of New Jersey-based Mahoney Asset Management, told The Post.
Kenin Spivak, chairman and CEO of the Beverly Hills-based SMI Group, thinks the good vibes will continue to drive the market upwards before Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
“The outlook remains positive through the first quarter, after which the market will look to actual performance of the administration and economy, rather than expectations,” Spivak told The Post on Friday.
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