New York Stock Market Closes Strong on 'Dovish' Yellen Remarks

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The New York stock market closed on an upward trend on the last day of President Donald Trump's term. It is evaluated that the economic stimulus intention of Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen led the upward trend.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

On the 19th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 116.26 points (0.38%) from the previous session to close at 30,930.52, the S&P 500 index increased by 30.66 points (0.81%) to 3,798.91, and the Nasdaq index rose 198.68 points (1.53%) to close at 13,197.18.

Yellen reaffirmed her commitment to economic stimulus through active fiscal spending during the Senate confirmation hearing, supporting stock investment sentiment.

Yellen expressed the view that now is the time to act boldly for economic recovery rather than worrying about fiscal deficits and national debt expansion.

Despite Yellen's support for large-scale economic stimulus, the US 10-year Treasury bond yield showed little fluctuation on the day.

Although Yellen signaled a shift away from the Trump administration's preference for a weak dollar, the dollar value actually declined that day. According to Business Insider, the dollar value recently rebounded in line with rising Treasury yields, but as of the 12th, hedge funds' net short positions on the dollar reached $34 billion, the highest since 2011.

Among individual stocks, GM surged 9.7% thanks to its autonomous driving subsidiary Cruise attracting investment from Microsoft.

February delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $52.98 per barrel, up 1.2% ($0.62) from the previous trading day. February delivery gold closed at $1,840.20 per ounce, up 0.6% ($10.30).