U.S. stocks rose as the markets opened on Wednesday as Joe Biden secured his place as a presidential contender after winning nine states in Super Tuesday primaries and reassured voters that he could become the Democratic nominee.
Also helping the jump in stocks was paycheck processor ADP reporting 183,000 jobs were created in February, beating expectations for around 170,000 new jobs.
Upon opening, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.45%, or over 600 points.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite also opened up, 2.06% and 2.20% respectively.
Stocks closed sharply down on Tuesday despite the Federal Reserve’s emergency enactment of an interest rate cut meant to reassure markets that the coronavirus outbreak wouldn’t lead to a downturn. The Fed cut its interest rate target by half a percentage point, making the short-term interest rate target between 1% and 1.25%. The markets first reacted positively to the announcement before giving up the gains that were made.
During early trading on Wednesday, UnitedHealth and Anthem stocks gained more than 12% as Biden’s primary wins on Tuesday eased concerns that presidential contender Bernie Sanders was not a lock to win the Democratic nomination and advance his “Medicare for all” agenda.
