Former President Donald Trump left office on Wednesday, as President Joe Biden took the oath of office and Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first female, first Black, and first Asian American VP in U.S. history.

There was a peaceful transition of power, something Wall Street, and it's safe to say the citizenry, was grateful for. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 257 points, or 0.8%, to finish at 31,188.

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Netflix hits 200 million subscribers. While the Dow had itself a nice day, it was the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which rose nearly 2%, that shone the brightest of the three major U.S. stock market indices.

Helping to lead that charge was video streaming powerhouse Netflix (ticker: NFLX ), which advanced 16.9% after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that impressed investors. Technically, it wasn't actually earnings that impressed investors, but subscriber numbers. Netflix added 8.51 million subscribers last quarter, exceeding consensus expectations by about 2 million and surging past the 200 million subscriber mark for the first time ever.

Ford rallying. It's Tesla ( TSLA ) that's been the apple of auto investors' eyes over the last year, but don't count out the old school just yet. Ford ( F ) shares jumped 8.4% on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank ( DB ) added the stock to its short-term "buy" list, raising the price target on shares to $11 from $9 per share.

Cost savings in Brazil, where the company has stopped operating, and the new administration's prioritization of electric vehicles, were both cited as catalysts. Ford, like its other rivals, is quickly moving to electrify its offerings.

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