By Noel Randewich
(Reuters) - U.S. banking sector shares on Thursday surged to levels not seen since the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, pushing the Dow to an all-time high, while technology shares sank as Wall Street rearranged its bets to benefit from Donald Trump's presidency.
The S&P 500 financial sector (SPSY) surged 3.70 percent to its highest since the 2008 financial crisis, bringing its gain since Trump's surprise victory in Tuesday's election to 7.9 percent, its biggest two-day gain since 2011.
Shares of Wells Fargo & Co (N:WFC) jumped 7.58 percent to their highest since January, and have now erased all of the losses incurred in the wake of a scandal over fake accounts opened by its employees. Bank of America (N:BAC) surged 4.40 percent and JPMorgan Chase (N:JPM) rallied 4.64 percent to a record high.
Trump has sided with leading conservatives in calling for the repeal of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act largely opposed by banks.
"The Trump campaign did say it would repeal Dodd-Frank. Rates are higher and the yield curve is steeper. Those are all good things for the banks," said Warren West, principal at Greentree Brokerage Services in Philadelphia.
Apple (O:AAPL) dropped 2.79 percent while Amazon.com (O:AMZN) fell 3.82 percent and the S&P 500 technology index (SPLRCT) fell 1.59 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) jumped 1.17 percent to end at 18,807.88, smashing through its previous record high set in August by almost 1 percent.
The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 0.2 percent to 2,167.48 while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) dropped 0.81 percent to 5,208.80, hurt by losses in tech shares.
With Thursday's gain, the Dow is up 8 percent in 2016 and the S&P 500 is up 6 percent.
High-dividend sectors utilities (SPLRCU), telecom services (SPLRCL) and consumer staples (SPLRCS) sold off by more than 2 percent as bond yields rose due to expectations of higher interest rates.
The market got a lift after St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said the Republican sweep of the White House and Congress could break the current gridlock over national policy in a potential boon to the U.S. economy.
Industrials (SPLRCI) trailed the financials with a 2.05 percent advance.
Macy's (N:M) rose 5.6 percent after the department store operator raised its full-year sales forecast and announced a partnership to monetize some of its real-estate assets.
After the bell, Nordstrom (N:JWN) reported quarterly results that sent its shares 5 percent higher while Walt Disney's (N:DIS) quarterly report pushed its stock down 2.6 percent.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.15-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.58-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 84 new 52-week highs and seven new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 336 new highs and 48 new lows.
About 12.3 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, far above the 7.3 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.