by Saeed Azhar, Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal
(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Monday, satisfied and reassured by Donald Trump’s choice to appoint fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary in his future administration, which contributed to a strong easing of US Treasury yields.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.99%, or 440.06 points, to 44,736.57 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 18.03 points, or 0.30%, to 5,987.37 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 51.18 points (0.27%) to 19,054.835 points.
The Russell 2000 index of small caps for its part broke its session record dating from three years ago before closing with an increase of 1.47%.
Wall Street has been breaking records since Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election on November 5, his promises of tax cuts and deregulation delighting investors.
However, these tax cuts and the president-elect’s commitment to raising a number of customs duties also give rise to a hint of concern, particularly for the federal deficit and inflation, and have contributed to pushing up yields on US Treasury bonds.
In this context, the appointment of Scott Bessent, perceived as a rigorous financier, is welcomed as a guarantee of budgetary seriousness.
Deutsche Bank now sees the S&P-500 reaching 7,000 points by the end of 2025 while Barclays has raised its performance forecast for the index next year.
If the drop in bond yields benefited rate-sensitive sectors, primarily real estate, the sharp decline in oil prices with the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon made the energy stocks such as Exxon Mobil (-1.5%) or Chevron (-1.23%).
Amazon shined with a gain of 2.2%.
Macy’s, on the other hand, lost 2.2%. The department store chain postponed the release of its quarterly results after discovering that an employee had falsified the company’s accounts over nearly three years by intentionally failing to record up to $154 million in shipping costs .
Bath & Body Works, a distributor specializing in beauty products and home goods, soared 16.5% after raising its annual profit forecast.
(Written by Saeed Azhar in New York and Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal in Bangalore, Bertrand Boucey)
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