U.S. stock futures rose slightly in Wednesday morning trading, as investors digest the likely Congressional event held by Democrats and continue to ignore the US Capitol disturbances.
Dow Jones Industrial average futures rose 125 points. The S&P 500 futures gained 0.6% and the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 0.88%.
The markets were unaffected by the chaos in Washington on Wednesday caused by pro-Trump protesters on the United States Capitol. Lawmakers had just started the electoral college’s process of counting votes and formally declaring the winner of President-elect Joe Biden when protesters stormed the chamber.
US officials said on Wednesday night that the Capitol building was safe after the protesters were evacuated. Congress met again and continued the process to confirm Biden’s victory on Wednesday night.
“The strength of the country is our institutions and our laws,” Ed Keon of QMA told CNBC. “Seeing this is disheartening, but we are going to prevail and I think that is the message of the markets.”
“I think the reason the markets are not so confused is that it is not going to change the power transition,” added Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors.
On Wednesday, US stocks rose as a result of the Georgia Senate’s run-off election. Minutes after the closing bell, NBC projected that Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated Republican David Perdue. This happened after NBC, previously projected by Democrat Raphael Warnock, defeated Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler in her second round.
The results of Georgia’s election create a 50-50 Senate that Democrats will control, due to a tiebreak vote by elected Vice President Kamala Harris. It is widely expected that a Democratic-controlled Senate will push for a more robust stimulus package, speculation that spurred actions on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 400 points or 1.4% to close at a record high. The S&P 500 rose 0.57%, reaching an all-time intraday high during the session. Both averages closed their highs amid the disturbances, however.
Nasdaq Composite underperformed, dropping 0.6%, with Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet closing lower.
The Russell 2000 small cap benchmark jumped almost 4% to the 2,050 level in the hope of further fiscal aid.
The 10-year Treasury’s yield exceeded 1% for the first time since the defeat unleashed by the pandemic in March on Tuesday night. The jump in yields triggered a rise in bank stocks on Wednesday.
Amid the chaos, the Bitcoin cryptocurrency reached $ 36,000.
The Labor Department releases last week’s unemployment insurance claims at 8:30 am on Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect 815,000 Americans to have filed for unemployment last week, compared with the 787,000 requests last week.
Bed Bath & Beyond, Constellation Brands, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Conagra report quarterly earnings ahead of the bell on Thursday. Chipmaker Micron reports after the bell.
Subscribe to CNBC PRO for unique insights and analysis, and live weekday scheduling around the world.