ASX ignores Washington turmoil, rides 'Blue Wave' to 1.9% gain

Summary

• The ASX jumped by 1.9% after US investors cheered the prospect of heftier pandemic stimulus support in the wake of the Georgia Senate run-off
• Wall Street finished higher on the dual Democrat Senate win in Georgia, though gains eased late in the session as supporters of Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC and clashed with police 
• The Aussie dollar hit an overnight high of 78.20 US cents, its best since March 2018. Gold eased back, but oil prices jumped another 1.7% and iron ore edged higher to $US168.72 a tonne
• US futures markets are up and point to further gains on Wall Street tonight