Stocks finished higher Tuesday, as global investors awaited the results of the deadlocked presidential election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 427.28 points, or 1.02%, to end the session at 42,221.88, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.23% to close at 5,782.76 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained .43% to finish the day at 18,439.17.
Political observers expect the race between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris to be tight.
"With Election Day finally here, expect more market volatility, particularly if the wait for a result is long or contested," said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. "Political divisiveness presents a risk to investor sentiment, though having gone through the 'hanging chads' of the Bush vs. Gore election in 2000, legal challenges, recounts, and the January 6 experience, perhaps markets are battle-tested for election chaos."
Turnquist added that "we can also take some comfort in history’s lesson that stocks tend to move higher in the months after elections regardless of the outcome."
"Most stock price movements over time are driven by earnings, inflation, and interest rates," he said. "Policy does matter, particularly tax and trade policy, but not as much as some might think."
Updated at 3:03 PM EDT
Trump (un)Trade?
Trump Media & Technology DJT shares were halted from trading on the Nasdaq amid a surge in volatility for the Donald Trump-controlled group and the parent of his Truth Social media company.
Trump Media shares were last marked 3.5% lower on the session at $33.25 each after they resumed trading, a move that represents a 36% decline from last week's peak that would leave the stock down around 33% over the past six months.
$DJT shares just plunged pic.twitter.com/on1fgud8ip
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) November 5, 2024
Updated at 11:01 AM EDT
Building gains
Stocks are extending gains into the morning session, with the S&P 500 us 44 points, or 0.77%, and the Dow up around 285 points.
Markets are also seeing another leg higher in bond yields, as well, with benchmark 10-year notes rising to 4.353% and 2-year notes bumping to 4.221% following stronger-than-expected ISM Services data for the month of October.
Broad-based gains - small and large, US and international pic.twitter.com/s9YrTIjky9
— Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT 🍖 (@MikeZaccardi) November 5, 2024
Updated at 9:38 AM EDT
Mixed open
The S&P 500 was marked 21 points, or 0.36% higher in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq rising 102 points, or 0.56%.Palantir record
The S&P 500 was marked 21 points, or 0.36% higher in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq rising 102 points, or 0.56%.
The Dow gained 50 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 slipped 5 points, or 0.22%.
Benchmark 10-year notes yields were last up 2 basis points at 4.315% while 2-year notes edged higher to 4.182%.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Nov. 05, 2024)$SPY +0.35%🟩$QQQ +0.49%🟩$DJI +0.17%🟩$IWM -0.19%🟥 pic.twitter.com/8EaBgYYLGe
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) November 5, 2024
Updated at 8:20 AM EDT
Palantir record
Palantir Technologies shares powered firmly higher in early Tuesday trading and look set to open at an all-time high, following a blowout earnings report that triggered a host of price target changes from analysts on Wall Street.
Related: Analysts overhaul Palantir stock price target after Q3 earnings
Palantir shares were marked 14.6% higher in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $47.41 each, a move that would extend the stock's six-month gain to around 89%.
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended lower on Monday amid much the same caution, with investors appearing reluctant to extend bets on a victory for either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump as the pair closed out their respective campaigns.
Polls will open in some East Coast states at 6 am Eastern time, with the first exit poll estimates expected at 5 pm Eastern from the National Election Pool.
Early voting, however, has seen an enormous surge in this election, with some 78 million ballots, nearly half the overall expected total, having already been cast.
Market volatility gauges were on the rise heading into the vote, with CBOE Group's VIX index rising 0.2% to $21.93, a level that suggests daily swings of around 1.4%, or nearly 80 points, for the S&P 500.
Benchmark Treasury bond yields, which have proven more volatile than stocks over the final weeks of the election campaign, were holding steady into the Tuesday session with 10-year notes pegged at 4.303% and 2-year paper trading at 4.171%.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was last marked 0.12% lower at 103.756. The dollar benchmark, however, has fallen around 0.6% since late October, a move largely in line with polling data showing a late-race improvement for Harris.
Related: Stocks will follow bonds as deadlocked election plays out
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a modest 10 point opening bell gain, while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average are priced for a 65 point bump.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 58 points higher, with heavyweights Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) notching early gain.
Other stocks on the move include Palantir Technologies (PLTR) , which surged 13.4% in heavy premarket volume after the AI and data analytics group posted stronger-than-expected third quarter earnings and boosted its full-year revenue forecast.
Related: Goldman Sachs sees rate cuts, but elections make things tricky for 2025
Boeing (BA) shares were also on the move, rising 1.9% in premarket after the planemaker's machinists' union voted to end a months-long strike by agreeing to a new labor contract last night.
In overseas markets, investors remained cautious heading into today's presidential election, which is seen as having a higher-than-usual risk of a count delay, or a dispute outcome, that could extend the final decision into the end of this week or beyond.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Analysts reboot Snap stock price target after earnings
- Analysts reset Meta stock price target after earnings
- Analysts update Reddit stock price target after earnings
Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.04% higher in early Frankfurt trading, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.32% in London.
Stocks in China got a boost from speculation that the National Party Congress, which meets this week in Beijing, will approve a new round of stimulus for the moribund economy, with shares rising to the highest in nearly a month.
The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rose 0.37% into the close of trading, while the Nikkei 225 returned from Monday's Culture Day holiday to rise 1.11%.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
