By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – The Dow closed higher Tuesday as strength in cyclical stocks ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's stimulus plans expected later this week offset weakness in tech amid rising political tensions.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.23%, or 71 points. The S&P 500 was up 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.20%.
Value stocks including energy materials and financials supported the broader market move higher as investors bet the economy could snap back stronger under a new administration that is expected to be heavily focused on spending.
Biden is expected to lay out his multi-trillion stimulus plan on Thursday, which is likely to include a proposal to boost stimulus checks to $2,000 from $600, provide state and local aid, and fund the ongoing vaccine roll out.
Industrials added 1% as Boeing (NYSE:BA) cut losses late in the session despite reporting that orders fell by 17 in December. Deliveries for the year fell to 157, down from 380 last year.
Energy added to gains from a day earlier, led by a rise in oil prices.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) forecast Brent crude reaching $65 a barrel by the middle of 2021, ahead of their previous estimate for year-end.
"Oil demand remains very levered to reaching herd immunity, with half of global oil demand losses still coming from jet, where international travel remains down 75% despite domestic flying only down 28%," Goldman Sachs said.
The backdrop of political uncertainty, meanwhile, intensified as President Donald Trump criticized Democrats for seeking to impeach him, insisting that his remarks in the run-up to the attack on Capitol Hill were "appropriate." The president also hit back at big tech, in particular social media firms, several of which have reined in his reach by restricting access to his accounts.
Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) fell 2%, while Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) ended 1% lower.
The House of Representatives said they would move ahead with a vote to impeach Trump on Wednesday, accusing him of inciting supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol. The vote comes as Vice President Mike Pence is unlikely to give in to the Democrats demand to invoke the 25th amendment and remove Trump from office.
In other news, General Motors (NYSE:GM) rose 6% to a record high as the automaker unveiled its electric van called the EV600, expected to launch later this year.
Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) jumped nearly 6% after it sold 1 million Zoom Phone seats, a core product in its unified communication platform, within two years after launch. The stock had been lower in pre-market trade after the company said it would sell $1.5 billion in stock to raise funds.