Stocks rise as Wall Street watches Georgia Senate races

Stocks took gains Tuesday as Georgians cast their final votes in two runoff elections that will determine which party will control the Senate.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a gain of more than 160 points Tuesday. The S&P 500 index rose 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq composite gained 1 percent.

After kicking off 2021 with losses, the stock market bounced back Tuesday with Wall Street focused on the results of the Senate races in Georgia and their implication for President-elect Joe Biden’s agenda.

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is seeking a full term against Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock after she was appointed to complete the term of former GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson. Former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), whose first term ended Sunday, is seeking a second stint in the upper chamber against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff.

Republicans currently hold a 51 to 48 majority over the Democrats and need either Loeffler or Perdue to win to maintain control of the Senate and stymie Biden’s most ambitious plans. If both lose, Democrats would be able to control an evenly divided Senate when Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is sworn in on Jan. 20 and assumes the role as the upper chamber’s tiebreaker.

The battle over the Senate will also influence how ambitious Biden and Democrats can be when the incoming president proposes a promised follow-up to the $900 billion economic relief package signed by President Trump last month. Ossoff and Warnock have both campaigned on a promise to help Biden and Democrats approve a measure to increase the $600 stimulus checks passed through that package to $2,000.

Updated at 4:41 p.m.