US TECH, HEALTH STOCKS RISE AS BIDEN WIN LOOMS

High-flying technology stocks boosted the S&P 500 index and healthcare led gainers on Wednesday as investors bet a divided US government would stunt chances for big reforms for these sectors or corporate tax hikes, Susan Mathew and Sinead Carew reported for Reuters.

Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. were some of the market's biggest boosters with gains between 4% and 8%. “Less regulatory risk and less tax risk is more constructive for those growth names,” said Lauren Goodwin, economist and multi-asset portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments.

The iShares MSCI China closed up 4.4% after hitting a record high as investors bet a Biden presidency would mean fewer US-China trade tensions. Shares of Baidu Inc. rose 4.6% while Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. rose 3.5% and JD.Com Inc. Added 8%.

The S&P healthcare sector .SPXHC led percentage gains to close up 4.5%. Health Insurer Unitedhealth Group rose 10%, providing the sector's biggest index point boost while Cigna Corp CI.N and Anthem Inc. also showed double-digit percentage gains. Merck & Co. rose 4.8% and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. climbed 5.4%. The S&P 500 Bank sector .SPXBK fell almost 4% as bond yields dropped and investors worried that weaker fiscal spending could weigh on credit. Among the bigger banks, Bank of America fell 4% and JP Morgan and Citigroup Inc. dropped more than 3%. Comerica Inc., M&T Bank Corp and Zion Bancorporation fell more than 10%.