People waited to vote in Tempe, Ariz.
Olivier Touron/AFP/Getty ImagesStock futures traded mixed early Wednesday as the vote-counting process for the U.S. election was set to stretch into at least another day, and President Donald Trump threatened to take the outcome to the Supreme Court.
Markets whipsawed back and forth for much of Tuesday night, with sharp losses for Dow Jones Industrial Average futures’ at one point suggesting growing concern by traders there won’t be a quick resolution of the 2020 U.S. election. A prolonged outcome means more uncertainty for investors in a tumultuous period for the markets.
Dow futures fell sharply as Trump began speaking, but clawed back lost ground and were last down about 0.1%. Futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, in particular, headed the other direction, up 2.5% and as much as 4% at one point. S&P 500 futures were up 0.6%. U.S. stocks finished with solid gains on Tuesday.
“We’re ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election,” President Trump falsely asserted in his speech. He reiterated this claim, and added that “we want all voting to stop.” Voting had already ended in all 50 states by the time he was speaking.
Millions of votes have yet to be counted, especially in key battleground states with tight races, such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. The Associated Press and other news outlets have not called a winner of the election.
Around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Biden addressed a car rally in Wilmington, Delaware, and said it could take some time before a result was declared in several states. “We believe we’re on track to win this election,” he said.
Other assets suggested a flight-to-safety trade was underway, though less strongly than earlier in the night. The U.S. dollar surged—weighing on commodities prices—and government bond yields were lower. Yields fall as prices rise.
By 1 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press had declared President Donald Trump the winner in 23 states worth 213 electoral votes, including Tennessee, Indiana, South Carolina, and Missouri. Vice President Joseph Biden has been declared the winner in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, California, and 17 other states plus Washington D.C., for a total of 238 electors. The first candidate to 270 electoral votes wins.
Futures tied to the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, first rose more than 3%, then fell by a similar amount, an indication that expectations for market volatility increased, and then diminished.
Stock indexes in Asia were mostly up. Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries and China’s Shanghai Composite were just above even, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose after opening down, and South Korea’s Kospi Composite and Taiwan’s Taiex extended gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was sharply higher, up more than 2% on Wednesday, after being closed on Tuesday.
The projected results appeared to be much closer than polls ahead of Election Day suggested they would be. Biden held a 7-point national vote lead over Trump on Tuesday, according to an average of polls from Real Clear Politics. Poll averages also had Biden slightly ahead in the crucial states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Arizona.
Control of Congress is also on the ballot, with tight Senate races in states including North Carolina, Iowa, Arizona, Maine, and Alabama. Democrats are projected by the AP to flip a seat in Colorado, with former governor John Hickenlooper prevailing over Republican incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner. In Alabama, Republican Tommy Tuberville prevailed over incumbent Democrat Doug Jones. A Georgia senate race appeared likely to go to a runoff.
Democrats are heavily favored to maintain their majority in the House of Representatives.
Some 100 million voters cast their ballots before election day in 2020, a record by a mile. Close races may take longer to declare winners, while some states only began counting absentee ballots on election day. If the electoral-college count comes down to a handful of votes, it make take several days to declare a winner. The stock market won’t like that uncertainty.
The S&P 500 surged 1.8% on Tuesday, to stretch its gain this week to over 3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 515 points, or 1.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.8%.
The gains this week follow a volatile and wobbly stretch for the market—not uncommon in the months leading up to an election. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are each down more than 3% since Labor Day, while the Dow has slipped 4.3%. Rising coronavirus cases in Europe and the U.S., fiscal stimulus wrangling, and an eventful third-quarter earnings season have contributed to big daily moves in both directions in recent weeks.
Write to Nicholas Jasinski at nicholas.jasinski@barrons.com
"stock" - Google News
November 04, 2020 at 03:42PM
https://ift.tt/366oRKN
Stock Futures Mixed as U.S. Election Remains Undecided - Barron's
"stock" - Google News
https://ift.tt/37YwtPr
https://ift.tt/3b37xGF
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Stock Futures Mixed as U.S. Election Remains Undecided - Barron's"
Post a Comment