Healthcare Stocks Soar After Sanders Announces End of Campaign

By teleSUR

09 April 20

The possibility of Sanders at the White House was never welcomed by the financial markets.

he stock market in the United States jumped higher Wednesday after Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign. This reaction confirmed the threat posed by his bold proposals and egalitarian program to Wall Street.

The Dow Jones average climbed almost 800 points following the Vermont senator's announcement.

The possibility of Sanders at the White House was never welcomed by the financial markets as the 78-year-old democratic socialist is an outspoken critic of "corporate America," and his agenda, including proposals like Medicare-for-all, tuition-free public college, and a wealth tax, terrified the capital owners.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is now the presumptive nominee, is seen as a candidate who is much more friendly to the markets, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, Chris Zaccarelli, told The Post.

In a moment when the markets' reactions are primarily determined by the Coronavirus pandemic, Zaccarelli added that what happened "is a reminder that this is an election year." In four to five months, Wall Street will be focusing on the 2020 Presidential Election "and the implications it will have for next year and the three years beyond that."

The news that Sanders was ending his campaign was met with sadness from progressives, who mourned the end of a campaign that defied corporate power, the domination of the financial markets, and galvanized a broad working-class coalition into a movement while creating among young people a new interest in politics.

Sanders, in a live-streamed speech to supporters Wednesday, vowed to continue the fight.

"We have taken on Wall Street, the insurance companies, the drug companies, the fossil fuel companies, the military-industrial complex, the prison industrial complex and the greed of the entire corporate elite," said Sanders. "That struggle continues."