Top line
The stock market rebounded Monday, with the Dow rising above 300 points after President Joe Biden elected Jerome Powell to replace Lael Brainard as head of the Federal Reserve, ending speculation about who would run the central bank since the economy was with faces high inflation.
The market hit new highs after Biden Powell voted Brainard to lead the Federal Reserve.
Important facts
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to over 300 points, while the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to hit a new intraday high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose as much as 0.9% before turning negative in afternoon trading.
Shares rose after President Biden ended weeks of market uncertainty on Monday and opted for the re-appointment of current Fed chief Jerome Powell, a Republican who led the central bank’s historic response to the pandemic.
Biden said in a statement Monday morning that he would nominate Powell for another four-year term as Fed chair from February, pending final Senate approval.
Powell’s main rival for the position, Lael Brainard – a Democrat favored by progressives in Washington for her courageous stance on climate change – was nominated as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Bank stocks and government bond yields rebounded widely after the White House announced the Fed’s decision on Monday, with stocks like JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley rising about 2%.
Electric vehicle maker Tesla’s shares rose more than 3% after CEO Elon Musk said the Model S plaid could hit China in the spring of 2022, while vaccine maker Moderna’s shares continued to climb, the last following the FDA’s decision Week increased by nearly 2% to approve the use of the company’s booster vaccine for all adults.