A trader wears a hat in support of Republican Donald Trump at the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 6, 2024.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
The stock market climbed to new records on Friday, as the Dow and S&P 500 headed for their best week in a year after Donald Trump's election win.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 260 points, or 0.6%, crossing 44,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 added 0.4%, trading above 6,000 for its own milestone. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lagged, little changed on the day, but did set its own intraday record.
The Dow is up more than 16% year to date.
All three of the major averages are on pace for strong weekly gains, thanks in large part to Wednesday's huge rally following Trump's victory. The S&P 500 is up about 4.7% for the week, as the Dow was higher by 4.7%. Both indexes are on track for their best week since November 2023. The Nasdaq is outperforming even those moves, toting a 5.7% advance, while the small cap benchmark Russell 2000 is up more than 8% week to date.
"Equities are eager to price in Trump's domestic growth policies (via small-caps) and hopes for easier regulation relative to the Biden administration," Barclays strategist Venu Krishna said in a note to clients.
"Whether these moves are sustainable remains to be seen; momentum is extending lofty gains as 'winners keep winning', and the sharp post-Election Day moves have pushed major gauges near (or into, in the case of [Russell 2000]) technically overbought territory," Krishna added.
Investors generally view a Republican-controlled government as more favorable on expectations for deregulation, the potential for more mergers and acquisitions and proposed tax cuts. However, concerns over the large federal deficit and increased tariffs have also sparked concerns of an uptick in inflation.
Some stocks associated with Trump were performing well again on Friday. Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk campaigned with the president-elect, rose 7% and was on track for its fourth-straight positive session. The automaker's market cap surpassed the $1 trillion mark. Law enforcement tech stock Axon Enterprises jumped more than 26% after the company raised its full-year revenue guidance. Trump Media jumped nearly 12% after the president-elect said he had no plans to sell his shares in the social media company.
Stocks also got a boost from the Federal Reserve this week, as the central bank lowered interest rates by a quarter point on Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted he is "feeling good" about the economy during a press conference following the change.
While some on Wall Street are worried about the valuations for the stock market, the strength of this week's move has bolstered confidence that there could still be room to move higher in the final months of the year.
"When everything seems like it's all working well, it's like. 'what's going to hit us?'" Keith Lerner, co-CIO at Truist Wealth, said on CNBC's "Closing Bell" Friday.
"There's probably something from left field. Sentiment's getting a little bit stretched, maybe some choppiness after this round number. But all in all, we still think you want to stick with that primary uptrend," he continued.
