US close: Stocks jump despite election uncertainty as voting roll in
Traders were in a bullish mood despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the US presidential elections, with all three Wall Street benchmark indices rising by 1% or more.
The Dow rose 1.02% to 42,221.88, with 25 of its 30 constituents finishing in positive territory, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.23% to 5,782.76 and the Nasdaq jumped 1.43% to 18,439.17.
“US markets aren’t showing many signs of nervousness as voting gets underway. While the political tension in the US has been ratcheted up to a high level, the market has remained calm, showing some of the usual pre-election weakness but otherwise holding steady," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
The race between former president Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris still remains too close to call, according to the final polling stats. And even after voting closes there is unlikely to be a clear winner for some time, with pundits warning that the final outcome may not be certain for many days due to individual states' own ballot-counting processes.
"A clear winner within the next day would be the ideal outcome here, while a long, drawn-out legal challenge is likely to keep bullish sentiment in check," Beauchamp said.
10-year US Treasury yields were relatively stable, down just 0.4 basis points on the day at 4.285%, while the US dollar index fell 0.5% to 103.42 – its lowest since 15 October.
Economic news
While the focus was firmly on the election, economic data was still making headlines.
The US trade deficit rose to its highest in 30 months in September as expected, jumping 19.2% to $84.4bn as businesses rushed to import goods before a planned – albeit later suspended – port strike in early October.
"We expect imports to outpace exports in the short term, as investment in data centres and semiconductors supports capital goods imports and a strong consumer pushes retailers to build out inventories," said Matthew Martin from Oxford Economics. "The outcome of the election could add upside risk to imports if businesses seek to pre-empt potential tariff increases in the event of a second Donald Trump presidency."
In other news, the S&P Global services PMI slipped to 55.0 in October, from 55.3 in September, slightly under analysts' forecast for no change; while the ISM services PMI unexpectedly increased to 56.0 from 54.9, ahead of the 53.8 estimate.
Market movers
After an early surge, Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group erased gains by the close to finish down 1% as election uncertainty kicked in. The stock has now lost 34% over the past five days alone.
Shares in software group Palantir Technologies soared 23% after the company beat forecasts comfortably with its third-quarter results, helped by a 40% jump in US government revenues.
Casino and hotels operator Wynn Resorts slumped 9% after missing estimates with its third-quarter revenues and profits.
Dow Jones - Risers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.32 3.55%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.62 3.11%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $526.96 3.03%
American Express Co. (AXP) $275.94 2.13%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $383.23 1.82%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $567.02 1.66%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $297.32 1.53%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $83.69 1.49%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $400.09 1.14%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $77.97 1.02%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $151.00 -2.62%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $153.41 -0.36%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $101.62 -0.22%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $297.54 -0.17%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $47.90 -0.10%
S&P 500 - Risers
Cummins Inc. (CMI) $355.02 8.86%
Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) $117.65 7.16%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $499.88 5.73%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.40 5.26%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $52.81 4.21%
Broadridge Fin Sol (BR) $218.15 4.13%
Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) $20.98 3.92%
Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $290.67 3.70%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $105.49 3.70%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $91.28 3.63%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Celanese Corp. (CE) $91.00 -26.32%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $86.72 -9.34%
Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) $52.00 -5.97%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $78.80 -5.88%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.99 -4.62%
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) $86.47 -3.49%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $217.60 -2.94%
Boeing Co. (BA) $151.00 -2.62%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $175.63 -2.30%
Eversource Energy (ES) $61.97 -2.10%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $499.88 5.73%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $105.49 3.70%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.32 3.55%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $251.44 3.54%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $173.90 3.17%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.62 3.11%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $108.07 3.10%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $76.40 3.01%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $4,914.98 2.90%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $139.91 2.84%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $86.72 -9.34%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $78.80 -5.88%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.99 -4.62%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $217.60 -2.94%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.54 -2.60%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $202.46 -0.59%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $521.98 -0.48%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $382.91 -0.26%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $66.77 -0.06%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $618.83 -0.03%