Stocks rise as investors await election results
Technology and consumer-focused companies led U.S. stocks broadly higher in afternoon trading Tuesday as the market recovered from an early stumble. Investors had their eye on the tight U.S. presidential race as voters headed to the polls.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 73 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 18,333. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 8 points, or 0.4 percent, to end at 2,140. The Nasdaq composite index added 27 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,193. The stock market had its biggest gain since March on Monday, when it snapped a nine-day losing streak.
Hillary Clinton entered Election Day with multiple paths to victory, while rival Donald Trump must prevail in most of the battleground states to reach 270 Electoral College votes. Control of the Senate was also at stake.
The market soared on Monday as Clinton’s chances for winning the presidency appeared to improve. Investors like certainty, and Clinton has been seen by the market as likely to maintain the status quo. Trump’s policies are less clear, and the uncertainty and uncomfortable closeness of the polls has caused jitters in financial markets.
“The market has been looking for the status quo result, and the polling in the last couple of days shows that result is a good likelihood,” said Mike Baele, senior portfolio manager at the Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank. “That’s the reason why the market is bouncing here.”
China’s exports fell again in October in a fresh sign of weak global demand that is complicating Beijing’s efforts to shore up economic growth and reduce reliance on trade and investment. Exports contracted by 7.3 percent from a year earlier while imports fell 1.4 percent. Similarly downbeat figures emerged from Germany, where exports dropped 0.7 percent in September over August, while imports fell 0.5 percent in season- and calendar-adjusted terms.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX was 0.2 percent higher, while France’s CAC-40 was up 0.4 percent. London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5 percent. Earlier in Asia, stock indexes closed mostly higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent, while Seoul’s Kospi added 0.3 percent. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was little changed.
Benchmark U.S. crude was up 20 cents at $45.09 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was up 8 cents at $46.23 a barrel in London.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.87 percent from 1.83 percent late Monday. In currency markets, the dollar rose to 105.10 yen from Monday’s 104.58 yen. The euro gained to $1.1023 from $1.1040. The Mexican peso, which has become an indirect proxy among investors for Trump’s chances to win the White House, lost ground to the dollar. The U.S. currency fell to 18.41 Mexican pesos from 18.68 pesos.
