Stock market today: Dow surges 440 points to record high as investors cheer Bessent as Treasury pick

• US stocks rallied, led by the Dow Jones, after Scott Bessent's nomination to run the Treasury Deparment.
• Bessent is seen as a stabilizing, pro-market force that could counter some of Trump's inflationary policies.
• Investors are eyeing key data releases in the holiday-shortened trading week, including PCE and GDP data.

US stocks extended their rally on Monday, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which surged 440 points and closed at a record.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also gained. The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 1.7% to an all-time high.

Investors cheered President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, former hedge fund manager Scott Bessent.

The pick of Bessent sparked a sell-off in the US dollar, Treasury yields, and gold as Wall Street expects him to pursue pro-market policies that help spur economic growth and limit inflation.

The former global macro investor is seen as a pro-market, stabilizing force that could counter some of Trump's plans that could stoke inflation or further balloon the deficit.

Bond yields dropped as investors saw Bessent's nomination as lowering the potential for a spike in inflation in 2025 and beyond. The 10-year Treasury yield plunged 14 basis points to 4.268%.

"The choice of Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary seems to have allayed major fiscal concerns," economist James Reilly of Capital Economics said.

Reports say Bessent pitched the 3-3-3 plan to Trump earlier this year, which was received favorably. The plan refers to three targets: cut the budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product by 2028, spur annual GDP growth to 3% via deregulation, and produce an additional 3 million barrels of oil per day. He has also floated the idea of gradually implementing tariffs to avoid causing a sudden, painful spike in inflation.

"Bessent as Treasury Secretary lends substantial economic and market credibility to the cabinet," Fundstrat's head of research Tom Lee said, adding that his role will be a positive for market dynamics heading into 2025.

Meanwhile, it's a busy week for economic data despite the shortened holiday week.

Investors will get initial jobless claims, a third-quarter GDP revision, and personal consumption expenditures data on Wednesday morning, as the stock market is closed on Thursday in observance of Thanksgiving.

Economists expect initial jobless claims to come in at 215,000, and third-quarter GDP growth to be 2.8%, while PCE inflation data is expected to be the same as last month at 0.2% on a month-over-month basis.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday:

• S&P 500: 5,987.29, up 0.3%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 44,736.57, up 0.99% (+440.06 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 19,054.84, up 0.27%

Here's what else is going on:

• UBS said Tesla stock could plunge 35% because the Trump-fueled rally isn't supported by fundamentals.
• A century-old land owner in Texas is seeing its stock surge thanks to an AI-fueled data center boom.
• Economists say Trump's immigration plans could deepen US demographic challenges.
• The stock market's back-to-back gains of more than 20% sets 2025 up for another big rally, Ryan Detrick said.
• The stock market could be a key check on Donald Trump's agenda during his second term in office.
• Here's what a strategic bitcoin reserve could mean for the price of the cryptocurrency.
• The rise of passive investing in the stock market could lead to more volatile trades during risk-off periods.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 3.06% to $69.06 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 2.69% to $73.15 a barrel.
• Gold declined 3.07% to $2,628.80 an ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield dropped 14 basis points to 4.268%.
• Bitcoin fell 3.48% to $94,605.