- Markets rallied to new highs Wednesday.
- Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election.
- The Fed is wrapping up its two-day meeting.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Record rallies
The three major indexes hit new records in trading Wednesday as Donald Trump won the White House. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,508.05 points, or 3.57%, to a reach a new record close of 43,729.93. It was the first time the 30-stock index has risen more than 1,000 points in one day since November 2022. The S&P 500 reached a new-time high, jumping 2.53%, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.95% to also hit a record. The small cap-focused Russell 2000 rose more than 5%. Follow live market updates.
2. Harris concedes
Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election to President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday. She urged her supporters to accept the results of the vote and said she had called Trump to congratulate him on the win. "We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square," she said at her alma mater Howard University, in Washington, D.C.. Meanwhile, congratulations poured in for Trump from politicians to Big Tech CEOs.
3. Ready for Fed
On top of it being election week, it's also a Fed week. The Federal Reserve started meeting Wednesday and will likely wrap up its meeting Thursday with an interest rate cut. The markets will be focused on what Fed Chair Jerome Powell has to say about the future, but the central bank's policymakers have long aimed to avoid commenting too much on politics. Meanwhile, financial markets are expecting that the Federal Open Market Committee will lower its benchmark borrowing cost by a quarter percentage point, which equals 25 basis points.
4. Stellantis layoffs
Jeep maker Stellantis is indefinitely laying off about 1,100 workers at an auto plant in Ohio. It will also cut a manufacturing shift at the Toledo South Assembly to better align output with demand for the Jeep Gladiator pickup — the only product the factory makes. The automaker has dealt with high inventory levels and lower earnings throughout the year.
5. Proposed tariffs
President-elect Donald Trump used his time on the campaign trail to tout the idea of increasing tariffs on many products. He has suggested enacting tariffs of 10% to 20% on all imports, including tariffs as high as 60% to 100% for goods from China and more than 200% for imported vehicles from Mexico. With the election secured, retail analysts and trade groups warned that such a move could lead to higher prices for consumers. And the CEO of e.l.f. Beauty told CNBC his company might have to raise prices if it faced those tariffs, which are much higher than what Trump imposed during his first term in office.
Money Report
— CNBC's Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Rebecca Picciotto, Annie Palmer, Jeff Cox, Melissa Repko, Gabrielle Fonrouge and Michael Wayland contributed to this report.
