U.S. Stocks Finish Higher After Trump's Surprise Election Victory

U.S. stocks finished higher on Wednesday, led by a surge in financial, health-care and industrial stocks, as investors bet President-elect Donald Trump would increase spending on infrastructure. Stocks opened lower following a sharp drop in futures overnight, as the prospect of a Trump presidency rattled markets. But they soon recovered, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its highest closing level since August. The blue-chip gauge gained 256.30 points, or 1.4%, to 18,589.04, led by Pfizer Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. . The S&P 500 index advanced 23.63 points, or 1.1%, to 2,163.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 57.58 points, or 1.1%, to 5,251.07. Gains were constrained by a drop in utilities, consumer staples and technology shares.