Stocks rally to record highs, Nasdaq closes above 13,000 for the first time; European markets close higher after U.S. Congress confirms Biden election win 
Stocks rose to all-time highs on Thursday as Congress confirmed the election of Joe Biden as president and traders looked past the unrest in Washington. The Nasdaq Composite popped 2.6% to 13,067.48 as shares of Microsoft and Alphabet both gained more than 2%, and Apple rose 3.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 211.73 points, or 0.7%, to 31,041.13. At one point, the Dow was up more than 300 points. The S&P 500 climbed 1.5% to 3,803.79. 
Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 5.2% to lead the Dow higher on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of JPMorgan Chase advanced 3.3% after the banking giant was upgraded to buy from neutral by an analyst at Bank of America. 
Sentiment on Wall Street also got a boost after the Institute for Supply Management said its index for nonmanufacturing activity in the U.S. rose to 57.2 in December from 55.9 in November. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast a print of 54.5. 

European stocks closed higher on Thursday after U.S. Congress confirmed the election of Joe Biden as president, following dramatic scenes when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended up by 0.7%, with basic resources shares adding 2.9% to lead the gains while the travel and leisure sector dropped 1.1%. On the data front, euro zone economic sentiment improved in December, according to European Commission figures published Thursday, but inflation remained negative, coming in at -0.3% according to a flash estimate. 
In terms of individual share price movement, Lundin Energy gained 10.5% by afternoon trade to lead the Stoxx 600, after receiving permission to drill a new exploration well in the Norwegian North Sea. 

BELELX was closed due to Christmas day. 
Source: CNBC, Ilirika