Nov. 3 (UPI) — All three major U.S. indexes rose for the second consecutive day Tuesday as traders await the results of the 2020 general election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 554.98 points, or 2.06%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.78% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.85%.
Walgreens Boots Alliance climbed 4.41% and JPMorgan Chase rose 3.16% to lead the Dow higher.
U.S. crude oil futures also gained 2.3%, rising to $37.66.
Traders responded positively to hopes that the nation would avoid a delayed or contested result to the election.
“Ultimately, the markets, want clarity and the main threat to risk assets this week is the emergence of a contested election, so if races are tight enough for campaigns to sue to halt or extend recounts, expect a reversal of this morning’s rally,” Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report, wrote in a note, according to CNBC.
Stephane Monier, chief investment officer at Lombard Odier, told The Wall Street Journal that traders are closely watching the election, particularly for the impact it could have on long-stalled negotiations over an additional round of stimulus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ll wait to have the first part of the results and add risk to our client portfolios in the case of a clear Democratic or Republican sweep,” Monier said. “We will stay very cautious in the case of a split result.”
Historically, markets have performed positively on Election Day, with the S&P 500 rising 0.8% on average on the day of presidential elections from 1984 to 2016.
Markets also climbed on Monday, with the Dow rising 423 points, as they entered November coming off of their worst week since March 20 amid rising COVID-19 cases throughout the country.
