Congress speaks, tech investors party -- like it's 2013
And what a start for 2013 as Congress' fiscal cliff resolution sends tech to big gains on the year's first day of trading.
But after finally clinching a (literally) last-minute deal to break a weeks-long deadlock over the so-called fiscal cliff, tech investors had a field day on the first day of trading for 2013.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed up more than 3 percent on the day, led by the usual roster of big names with Google finishing at $723.25, up 2.24 percent and Apple gaining almost 3 percent to close at $548.07. Facebook, which for much of the spring and summer had been a neglected stock, continued its recent climb, finishing up more than 5 percent to close the day at $28.
Of course, the Nasdaq's gains reflected the 309-point increase in the stock market, which marked the Dow Jones' biggest opening-day point jump ever. One notable wall flower was LinkedIn, which finished down nearly 2 percent after a Barclay's downgrade over valuation.