Stocks Show Jerome Powell Is Still Wall Street’s Head of State
- Led by tech, equities surged despite no final election result
- Ever-present Fed boosting stocks with stimulus hopes fading
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Hopes for a fat new package of government spending to plump the American economy looked to be a casualty of the election, with odds pointing to divided government. That left Jerome Powell the once and future king of markets, a regime stock investors are showing they can live with.
To say bulls shook off disappointment over stimulus is an understatement. While doubts about reflation took brief bites out of bank and commodity stocks this week, the rest of the market celebrated, adding about $2 trillion in value as the S&P 500 had its best week since April. As before, as always, a handful of software and internet colossi led the stampede higher, luring investors back on speculation their nosebleed valuations will survive the election.