Wall Street gains to record highs as markets cheer Donald Trump Treasury pick Scott Bessent

The benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow have hit intraday record highs while the Nasdaq also advanced, with Scott Bessent’s nomination as Treasury secretary in the incoming US administration boosting investor sentiment.

US president-elect Donald Trump ended weeks of speculation when he named his choice late on Friday, with some investment strategists saying Bessent could take measures to restrain further government borrowing even as he follows through on fiscal and trade campaign pledges.

In early trading on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 459.25 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 44,753.77, the S&P 500 gained 43.12 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 6012.50 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 153.88 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 19,157.53.

The Russell 2000 index, tracking domestically focused small-caps, rose 1.5 per cent, inching closer to an all-time high as the yield on 30-year Treasury bonds led declines across the curve.

Yields on Treasury bonds had surged after Trump’s victory amid expectations that his policies, considered broadly positive for the economy and big corporates, could stoke inflationary pressures and slow the pace of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy easing.

“He (Bessent) might have a moderate approach to tariffs and that’s good news, because one of the fears is that if Trump does impose strong tariffs, that could be inflationary and would mean the Fed would have to perhaps reverse the present monetary policy,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, New York.

Big banks gained, with Goldman Sachs rising 0.4 per cent, JPMorgan Chase & Co up 0.6 per cent and Morgan Stanley adding 0.6 per cent, sending the broader Banks index 0.9 per cent higher.

Popular “Trump trade” Tesla advanced 0.8 per cent while other growth stocks such as Alphabet and Amazon.com rose 2.1 per cent each.

The Consumer Discretionary and Communication Services sectors rose 1.3 per cent and 1.0 per cent respectively.

The benchmark S&P 500 was trading above 6000 points, and has jumped more than 4.0 per cent since November 4.

The Russell 2000 index has surged more than 8.0 per cent in the same period.

Brokerage Barclays raised its full-year 2025 forecast for the S&P 500 to 6600 points from 6500.

Investors have recently swung between expectation of a pause versus a further cut in interest rates at the Federal Reserve’s December meeting.

The CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows a near 56 per cent probability the US central bank will deliver another 25 basis point cut.

The Personal Consumption Expenditure report, the central bank’s preferred inflation gauge, will be on investors’ radar this Thanksgiving week.

Macy’s fell 3.5 per cent after the department-store operator delayed the publication of its third-quarter results due to an accounting issue.

Bath & Body Works raised its forecast for full-year adjusted profit, sending the retailer’s shares up 21.5 per cent.

Peabody Energy dropped 1.8 per cent after Anglo American decided to sell its remaining Australian steel-making coal mines to the company for up to $US3.78 billion ($A5.80 billion) in cash.

Retail trading platform Robinhood Markets advanced 4.0 per cent after Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the stock.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.99-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 3.5-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 85 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 252 new highs and 26 new lows.