U.S. financial markets on Monday welcomed the nomination by Donald Trump of investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary.
St0cks moved higher on the first trading day following the Friday announcement of Trump’s pick. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 475 points, or around one percent. The S&P 500 climbed about six-tenths of a percent. The Nasdaq Composite was also up by around three-quarters of a percent.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller American businesses is up 1.6 percent, signaling investor confidence that the Trump administration’s policies under Bessent will bolster the domestic economy.
Bessent has said that he will make Trump’s tax cuts a top priority. He’s also a supporter of cutting the deficit down to three percent of gross domestic product, primarily by growing the economy faster than government spending. Bessent also believes that the Trump administration’s tariff proposals can be used to benefit U.S. businesses and workers by opening up global markets to U.S. products and protecting U.S. manufacturers from predatory mercantilist policies from China and elsewhere.
Treasury yields fell sharply, likely a signal of falling concerns around inflation and budget deficits. Treasury yields move in the opposite direction of prices, so falling yields indicate investors are paying more for U.S. government debt.
Stocks were up in Australia and Japan but down in China.