US stocks close at record highs after Joe Biden becomes 46th President of the United States

• US stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.
• Tech stocks led the market higher following a stronger than expected earnings report from Netflix.
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US stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday following the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

The stock market was led higher by technology stocks following a stronger than expected earnings report from Netflix that sent shares soaring nearly 20%.

The video-streaming company said it expected positive free-cash-flow generation going forward and would begin to stop relying on the debt markets to fuel its content lineup; it could eventually explore a stock-buyback program. Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 3,851.85, up 1.39%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 31,188.38, up 0.83% (257.86 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 13,457.25, up 1.97%

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The enthusiasm for tech shares on Wednesday also helped fuel a 6% surge in Alphabet to record all-time-highs.

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Morgan Stanley reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations, driven by the firm's trading unit and wealth-management arm.

Popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum pulled back on Wednesday after Janet Yellen, President-Joe Biden's nominee for treasury secretary, said it might make sense to "curtail" their use because they are mainly used for illicit activities in a transactional sense. Alibaba surged 7% after its founder, Jack Ma, resurfaced in a videoconference. Ma had not been seen in public for months as Chinese regulators clamped down on the Ant Group initial public offering and Alibaba's selling practices.

Famed short-seller Jim Chanos said he transitioned his short exposure in Tesla to put options from shares, which will limit his downside potential.

Oil prices were mixed. West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 0.12%, to $53.10 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, declined 0.05%, to $55.87 per barrel.

Gold rose as much as 1.57%, to $1,869.10 per ounce.

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