Dow Jones ends at new record despite unrest in Washington

The major US stock indices rose on Wednesday despite the political unrest in the US, and Dow Jones hit a new milestone today, but the tech sector weighed down on Nasdaq.

Investors are following the US media as thousands of Trump supporters are storming the US Capitol Building to protest against Democratic candidate Joe Biden's victory.

This came after Trump delivered a speech in Washington to a large crowd of his supporters, and refused to concede the election while claiming widespread voter fraud.

US President-elect Joe Biden has called on President Donald Trump to put an end to this siege, which he described as unprecedented in the country's history.

Trump responded with a tweet calling his supporters to return home, adding that the presidential election was stolen, but called for peace and order.

Data showed today that the US private sector has added around 123K new jobs during December, while analysts forecast adding 60K, and in November it has added 304K.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting showed that FOMC members hinted that markets will be provided advance notice before any changes to the $120 billion bond-buying program.

The members agreed that markets will be notified well in advance before the asset purchase program is changed, and the minutes also showed that the economic recovery is stronger than expected.

To the oil market, WTI crude February futures rose 1.4%, and closed at $50.63 a barrel, after hitting a day high of $50.8 and a low of $49.4.

Brent March futures rose 1.4% and closed at $54.30 a barrel, after hitting a high of $54.7 and a low of $53.4.

As for stocks, Dow Jones rose 1.4% or 438 points, and closed at 30,829, with a day high of 31,022, and a low of 30,313.

S&P 500 rose 0.6% or 21 points to 3,748, after hitting a high of 3,783 and a low of 3,705.

Nasdaq fell 0.6% or 78 points to 12,740, with a high of 12,909 and a low of 12,650.