Dow futures climb 500 points after Biden scores big wins on Super Tuesday
US stock futures jumped higher as Joe Biden scored big wins on Super Tuesday, resurrecting his campaign and emerging as Sen. Bernie Sanders’ leading rival for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Dow futures were last up more than 580 points, or 2.3%, after the former US vice president was projected to win many as nine states including Texas, Virginia and Minnesota. Sanders captured Utah, Vermont and Colorado, and was leading in California.
Futures for the S&P 500 were up 1.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.9%.
Wall Street has been unnerved by prospect that Sanders, who wants to ban fracking, break up big banks and institute a wealth tax, could win the Democratic nomination and eventually the presidency.
Biden is viewed as a more moderate alternative to Sanders. A second term for President Donald Trump, who has cut taxes and regulations, is widely regarded as the best potential outcome for Wall Street.
All three major US indexes closed lower on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by half a percentage point to help insulate the US economy from the global novel coronavirus outbreak. The Dow finished down 786 points, or 2.9%, just one day after recording its best point gain in history.
Global stocks remained on edge Wednesday, but largely avoided big momentum swings.
European markets were higher in morning trade, with the FTSE 100 adding 1.3% in London. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 increased 1.1%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 0.2%, while China’s Shanghai Composite finished up 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the day flat.
South Korea’s Kospi recorded the biggest gains in the region, finishing up 2.2%. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced that the country would propose a budget of roughly $9.8 billion (11.7 trillion Korean won) to minimize the economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak — the largest supplementary budget ever dedicated to a contagious disease in the country. The budget will now be submitted to the National Assembly for approval.
— Anneken Tappe contributed to this report.
