CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that investors are cheering the prospect of Democrat Joe Biden becoming president because Biden would provide more stability than President Donald Trump.
Stocks were surging Thursday, building on Wednesday’s post-election rally despite the absence of a winner in the presidential race. At present, Biden holds an advantage in the Electoral College, with 253 votes compared with Trump’s 214. To win, 270 electoral votes are needed.
NBC News has not made an official call in the presidential race or on the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. However, should Biden win the White House while the Republicans maintain control of the Senate, Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street” that the day-to-day machinations of Washington will be less of a focus for Wall Street.
“They are going to be so not a part of our existence. It’s joyous. We’ll look at earnings per share. We’ll look at how our companies are doing. We won’t have to worry,” Cramer said. “It is … nirvana for the stock market.” Cramer was continuing on a “nirvana” theme that he started Wednesday evening on “Mad Money.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by over 500 points, or 2%, on Thursday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also rose by over 2%. The major U.S. equity benchmarks all advanced Wednesday, led by the Nasdaq’s nearly 4% gain. Wall Street was riding a four-session winning streak, which started with a strong move higher Monday on election eve.
The post-election gains come even though there has not been an official winner between Biden and Trump. The president’s campaign also has begun pursing legal action in multiple states, including Pennsylvania and Michigan, raising issues with the way votes are being counted.
However, Cramer said he believes investors on Thursday are not worried too much about those lawsuits leading to the kind of market volatility that transpired while the 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush was contested all the way to the Supreme Court. “I feel that there’s closure coming, and that’s part of the rally,” Cramer said.
After the Supreme Court decision on Dec. 12, 2000 against continuing the Florida recount, Gore decided to cease any further challenges and he conceded the race to Bush a day later.
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, who was Gore’s running mate in 2000, told CNBC on Thursday that he hopes Gore’s actions can serve as a guidepost for Trump should the president’s legal challenges to the 2020 election don’t go his way.
You’ve got a right to take your case to the courts. Let the judges decide. But most of all, as Al Gore did in 2000, it has got to end at some point for the good of the country,” Lieberman said on “Squawk Box.”