Golden Finance reported that U.S. household wealth hit a record high in the third quarter, driven by stock market gains ahead of the U.S. presidential election. A report released by the Federal Reserve on Thursday showed that household net worth increased by nearly $4.8 trillion, an increase of 2.9% from the previous quarter, to $168.8 trillion. The value of Americans' stock holdings increased by $3.8 trillion, while the value of real estate fell by nearly $200 billion. Investors benefited from gains in stocks in the third quarter as markets anticipated a Federal Reserve interest rate cut and Donald Trump's return to the White House next year. Since Trump's victory in the Nov. 5 election, the S&P 500 has climbed to new highs on expectations that the president-elect will enact pro-business policies.