WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved sharply higher during trading on Wednesday, with the major averages all showing strong moves to the upside following the mixed performances seen in each of the two previous sessions.
The Dow is posting a standout gain, surging 1,299.62 points or 2.5 percent to 53,086.34 amid significant increases by shares of 3M (MMM), Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL).
The tech-heavy Nasdaq has pulled back well off its highs of the session but remains up 379.32 points or 1.5 percent at 25,751.33, while the S&P 500 is up 107.09 points or 1.4 percent at 7,676.01.
The rally on Wall Street comes following Democrats' decisive victory in the midterm elections on Tuesday.
Democrats are projected to win control of both the House and Senate after flipping several seats in traditionally Republican states.
President Donald Trump's apparent willingness to accept the results and work with Democrats to address political issues may have helped offset concerns about increased regulatory scrutiny under a Democrat-controlled Congress.
'Despite losing Republican control of Congress, Trump indicated that he was willing to work with Democrats and potentially reach agreements on key issues,' said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.
She added, 'This has helped ease some concerns about prolonged political confrontation and legislative gridlock, although his continued veto powers mean significant policy disagreements remain likely.'
In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. grew by more than expected in the month of October.
The report said private sector employment climbed by 86,000 jobs in October, matching a downwardly revised increase in September.
Economists had expected private sector employment to rise by 70,000 jobs compared to the addition of 90,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Institute for Supply Management showed service sector growth saw a modest slowdown in the month of October.
The ISM said its services PMI edged down to 54.5 in October after dipping to 54.9 in September, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth. Economists had expected the index to slip to 54.7.
Sector News
Gold stocks are moving sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index soaring by 6.5 percent.
Substantial strength is also visible among retail stocks, as reflected by the 5.3 percent spike by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index.
Housing stocks have also shown a significant move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 5.2 percent.
Airline, software and telecom stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while energy and semiconductor stocks have moved sharply lower
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region once again turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index surged by 2.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all shown strong moves to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 2.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 2.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have rebounded following the notable pullback seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.5 basis points at 4.917 percent.
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