New York: Wall Street stocks move solidly higher by midday Wednesday, to shrug off early losses in the wake of Republican Donald Trump's stunning victory in the US presidential election.
Markets turned positive after hesitant selling following the opening, as hopes of a pro-business agenda partially blunted the higher uncertainty.
At midday (1700 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.0 percent, or 185 points, at 18,518.50.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent to 2,155.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 percent at 5,226.00.
It was a stark picture from the panic that struck futures trading just after the election results were known overnight and before the US markets opened, when Dow futures fell more than 700 points.
"The market feels the uncertainty is now over, even though many people are not happy with who won," said Sam Stovall of CFRA.
"That ends up representing a good buying opportunity, as a lot of people have been recommending buying the dip, and when that happens, you just don't get any dip."
Shares in sectors threatened by more regulation from a Democratic administration, like drugmakers, soared. Pfizer jumped 7.8 percent, Merck 6.4 percent, and Novartis 3.7 percent.
Bank shares also jumped for the same reason, with JPMorgan Chase surging 4.9 percent, Goldman Sachs 3.4 percent, and Wells Fargo 5.0 percent.
Also at the top of blue chip gainers was heavy equipment maker Caterpillar, which rocketed 7.4 percent, likely on hopes it would benefit from a Trump administration's plans to sharply increase spending on US infrastructure development.
Trump is also expected to offer more supportive policies to the energy industry, but oil share gains were modest, in part because oil prices remain depressed on global oversupply.
Exxon Mobil rose 0.5 percent and Chevron gained 0.2 percent.
"Energy is doing better than the market but is not skyrocketing, mainly because it's a demand issue and not a political issue that kept oil prices down," said Stovall.
Analysts remained cautious about what a Trump administration would deliver after taking office in late January.
"What people promise on the campaign trail and what actually happens are two different things," said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade.
"So we're still speculating until he actually takes office and the new Congress comes."
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