The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 167.71 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 30,391.6, the S&P 500 gained 26.21 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 3,726.86 and the Nasdaq Composite added 120.51 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 12,818.96. — Reuters pic
A Democratic victory in both contests could tip control of the US Senate away from Republicans, potentially boosting the agenda of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. The start of vaccine rollouts boosted equities heading into the end of the year, and US stocks ended 2020 at record highs. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.19 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.62 per cent.
In the currency markets, the dollar fell against a basket of major currencies in the wake of China’s decision to lift its official yuan exchange rate by its highest margin since it abandoned a dollar peg in 2005.In the offshore market, the yuan strengthened as far as 6.4419 for the first time since June 2018. It started the week at 6.4944.