Stocks posted their best day in almost a decade on Wednesday, and this is with the Dow Jones Industrial Average indenting its most significant 1-day point in recent history. The rallies in energy and retail shared have led the gains, as Wall Street recovered from the losses in the previous session.
At 1,086 points higher, or about 4.98% at 22,878, the 30-stock Dow closed. Wednesday’s gain has also marked the most significant upward move based on a percentage since March 23, 2009, when it rose about 5.8% points.
The retailers have been among the best performers on Wednesday, where the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has jumped to 4.7%. The shares of Dollar General, Wayfair, and Kohl’s all rose to more than 7%. Mastercard SpendingPulse has released data that shows retailers celebrating their best holiday season for the last six years. The stock of Amazon also jumped to about 9.45%, breaking a 4-day losing streak. The company said that they have sold a considerable number of items this holiday season.
As U.S crude oil prices hiked to more than 8%, the energy stocks also increased. The shares of Hess and Marathon Oil were one of the best performers within the sector of energy, their shares have jumped to 11 and 11.9% respectively.
During Monday, there was a sharp sell-off that sent the major indexes down to more than 2%, ending with the S&P 500 plunging into a bear market. The pullback on Monday was considered the worst Christmas Eve decline. Now, the S&P 500 is down to 20.06% from a record high set on 21st of September, before Wednesday’s sudden rebound. On Christmas day the U.S exchanges were closed.
As for the plunge of stocks on Monday, it came right after the Treasury Secretary, Steven Munchin, had some calls with the CEOs of the major U.S. banks during the weekend. They have issued a statement, “The banks have confirmed all the ample liquidity to be available for lending to business and consumer markets.”
Monday’s move also came after the U.S President, Donald Trump commented on the Federal Reserve once again, and then calling it “the only problem that our economy has” in a tweet. Trump also claimed on Tuesday that the Federal Government was “raising the interest rates too fast as they have thought the economy is good.” Trump has been detracting the Fed’s decision regarding this year’s monetary policy. The central bank hiked rates overnight four times this year.
All of this has been taking place in the middle of an ongoing Federal Government shutdown, which started last week. The congressional leaders and the Trump Administration are at a stalemate over the wall’s funding at the U.S-Mexico Border. The administration said that the wall is essential for the nation’s security, while the disagreeing opponents of the barriers say that it won’t solve the immigration issues of the U.S.
