The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000 for the first time on Tuesday, buoyed by favorable investor sentiment over coronavirus vaccine developments and news that President-elect Joe Biden’s transition process has begun.
The Dow rose 1.4% in midday trading while the S&P 500 index, which has a far greater impact on retirement accounts than the Dow, climbed 1.3%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1%.
President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to “everybody” for reaching the milestone, although analysts partly attributed the gains to news that his incoming successor, Biden, had chosen widely respected former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen as treasury secretary.
The Dow traded above 30,000 amid growing optimism that coronavirus vaccine developments will allow governments to relax restrictions that have weakened the U.S. and other economies. AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna have all recently announced good results from ongoing vaccine studies.
Additionally, the U.S. General Services Administration acknowledged on Monday that Biden is the apparent winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election. The acknowledgement allows Biden to coordinate with federal agencies on plans to assume control of the White House on Jan. 20, despite ongoing efforts by President Donald Trump to overturn the election.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said, "I just want to congratulate everybody. The stock market Dow Jones Industrial average just hit 30,000, which is the highest in history...That's a sacred number 30,000. Nobody thought they'd ever see it."
