[New York Close] US Stock Market 'Celebrates' Biden Victory

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The US New York stock market showed a sharp rise, fueled by former Vice President Joe Biden's spectacular comeback in the Democratic presidential primary. Although the New York stock market fell the previous day despite the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate cut, it succeeded in rebounding in just one day.

On the 4th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,173.45 points (4.53%) to close at 27,090.86, the S&P 500 index rose 126.75 points (4.22%) to 3,130.12, and the Nasdaq jumped 334.00 points (3.85%) to 9,018.09.

The market rise on this day is understood as a relief rally following the victory of centrist Joe Biden over socialist Senator Bernie Sanders in the Super Tuesday primary held the day before.

Biden emerged as the frontrunner in delegate count after an unexpected landslide victory in primaries held in 14 states the previous day. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg dropped out of the race and declared support for Biden. Biden overtook Sanders to become the leading candidate in the Democratic presidential primary.

Recently, the US stock market has experienced declines whenever the momentum of the radical-leaning Senator Sanders rose. The capitalist market is extremely averse to the emergence of a socialist presidential candidate.

The sharp rise in stocks of healthcare-related companies, which had repeatedly underperformed due to concerns over Sanders' major policy of Medicare for All, reflects this situation. UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the US, surged more than 10%. The healthcare sector also rose 5.81% on the day.

Following the Fed, the Bank of Canada also cut its benchmark interest rate on this day, increasing the possibility of coordinated international responses to COVID-19, which is interpreted as another factor reassuring the market.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) announced that the February Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 55.5 last month to 57.3. The final seasonally adjusted February US Services PMI by IHS Markit was 49.4, down from the previous month's confirmed 53.4.

The Fed pointed out through the Beige Book that economic expansion continued, but concerns about COVID-19 are growing.

International oil prices fell. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), April delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $46.78 per barrel, down 0.9% ($0.40) from the previous day. International gold prices slightly declined, with April delivery gold falling 0.09% ($1.49) to $1,643 per ounce compared to the previous day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.