The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed on a record Wednesday when the US Capitol was locked after supporters of President Donald Trump dashed past barricades.
Vice President Mike Pence was escorted off the Senate floor during the Electoral College vote count certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a curfew in the district from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that the DC National Guard was being activated for duties that may include helping to enforce curfews.
Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi released a joint statement calling on Trump to “demand that all protesters leave the Capitol and Capitol Grounds immediately,” the AP reported.
Several Republican lawmakers called on Trump to call for an end to the violence, NBC reported.
“Mr. President @realDonaldTrump the men and women of law enforcement are being attacked. It is critical that you restore order by sending resources to aid the police and ask those who do so to resign, ”tweeted Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Trump had previously called on his supporters to “remain peaceful,” but he did not urge them to disperse, AP reported.
The Dow closed 437 points, or 1.44%, to 30,829 and the S&P 500 won 0.57% to 3,748.
Both the Dow and S&P 500 hit record highs during the day.
The Nasdaq ended 0.61% to 12,740 after a sharp drop earlier in the session out of concern that major tech companies could face tighter antitrust controls under a Democratic Party-controlled Congress.
Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, defeated Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler in Georgia and won one of two Senate layoffs in the state.
And the AP has canceled Georgia’s other run-off game for Democrat Jon Ossoff against Republican Senator David Perdue.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bill was 1% for the first time since March.
The elections in Georgia have given Democrats control of Congress and enabled them to push through President-elect Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.
The Senate Democrats are on an equal footing with the Republicans, allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to cast the casting vote in a 50-50 tie.
Analysts say a switch to Democrats could lead to greater fiscal stimulus and higher taxes. Just one Republican victory in Georgia would have given the GOP enough votes to prevent Biden from pursuing his more ambitious trade, energy and security policies.
“Stock markets have rallied in recent months, and it is more likely that we will see a sector rotation within the market rather than a continued sell-off in the result of the Democrats taking full control of the government,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief. investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.
Federal Reserve officials unanimously supported the pace of central bank bond purchases in the minutes of its December meeting.
“All participants felt that it would be appropriate to continue these purchases at least at the current pace, and almost all were in favor of maintaining the current composition of purchases,” said the minutes of the meeting.
Private payrolls at US companies unexpectedly fell 123,000 in December, the first drop since April, as the coronavirus pandemic reduced hires, particularly in leisure, hospitality and retail.