Joe Biden on a screen in the Times Square area of New York.
Photographer: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg
Photographer: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg
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The markets are loving Joe Biden’s turn as president of America.
The S&P 500 index released on Wednesday its best reaction on the first day to a presidential inauguration since at least 1937, with a jump of 1.4% from the perspective of about $ 2 trillion in stimulus spending. Global stocks, in turn, hit again all-time records.
Biden’s formal transition to the White House cemented investors’ faith in companies allied to his policies, while those that don’t meet his priorities are losing out. Clean energy stocks have increased, continuing the gains made since Biden won the election. Defense equipment manufacturers and prison operators – sectors that did well under Donald Trump – fell.
Here’s what’s moving the markets when Biden takes over.
Renewables for
Some clean energy stocks in South Korea and Japan rose on Thursday, with Biden’s signature comprehensive actions to combat climate change within hours of taking office. He is moving to bring the United States back to the Paris climate deal and has imposed a moratorium on oil leasing in parts of the Arctic.
South Korea OCI Co., a maker of solar equipment, rose by 9% and Japan West Holdings Corp., which builds solar power generation systems, gained 4.5%.
In Europe, renewable energy actions, including wind power company Vestas Wind Systems A / S and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA outperformed the Stoxx 600 Energy index, both gaining at least 2%.
Elsewhere, actions exposed to building renovations to make them more energy efficient have risen and surpassed the construction sub-index, led by insulation manufacturers Kingspan Group Plc and Rockwool International A / S together with Dutch LED lighting company Signify NV.
Pounded prisons
The actions of US private prison operators, long a target of Democrats, have plummeted. CoreCivic Inc. decreased 7.8% and Geo Group Inc. fell 4.1% on Wednesday. Both companies’ shares have fallen more since December 22.
Defense falls
Defense actions in Asia fell due to expectations that Biden’s less conflicting policies would reduce global geopolitical risks and the need to increase spending in the sector. Japanese rifle manufacturer Howa Machinery Ltd. fell 7.8%, while Australian defense shipbuilder Austal Ltd., which gets about 77% of its revenue from the United States, fell 2.7%.
– With the help of Sam Unsted and Beth Mellor
(Adds details about European stocks moving in the 7th and 8th paragraphs)