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* S&P healthcare index jumps to record high
* Banks among rare decliners in afternoon trading
* Investors want decisive result and path to stimulus
* Indexes up: Dow 2.60%, S&P 3.20%, Nasdaq 4.32%
(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Sagarika Jaisinghani
Nov 4 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes surged on
Wednesday as investors bet that an excruciatingly close race for
the White House could end with a gridlock in Congress that would
reduce the chance of major policy changes.
Both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden
still have possible paths to reach the 270 Electoral College
votes needed to win as states keep counting mail-in ballots.
The S&P healthcare index .SPXHC jumped 5.6% to a record
high, while the information technology sector .SPLRCT rose
4.3%, as investors said chances faded for Democrats to score a
big win in the U.S. Senate, lowering bets of higher antitrust
scrutiny and capital gains taxes. "What's emerging for me is that not much is going to change
as a result of this election, even if Biden wins," said Peter
Kraus, a former Goldman Sachs executive who founded asset
management firm Aperture Investments in 2018.
"The Senate is unlikely to flip. Stimulus bills, investments
in infrastructure, significant fiscal spending and tax changes
look in a rear view mirror."
Investors have said they favor a definitive, swift
resolution to the election as that would clear the way for a
deal on a stimulus package to help the damaged domestic economy.
Analysts have also said the market will be comfortable with a
clear Trump victory. Meanwhile, Biden was back as clear favorite to win the
election in online betting markets, according to data from three
aggregators, after he overtook Trump in the state of Wisconsin.
"A lot of investors think (the election) will be wrapped up
in a couple of days," said Arian Vojdani, investment strategist
at MV Financial in Bethesda, Maryland.
"(But) increased uncertainties such as potential court cases
around the election could throw a wrench in the current market
optimism."
The NYSE FANG+TM Index .NYFANG , which includes the core
FAANG stocks, jumped 4.7%.
Shares of defense contractors Northrop Grumman NOC.N ,
Lockheed Martin LMT.N and Raytheon RTX.N rose between 1% and
5.1% on receding chances of a cut in the defense budget.
Big Pharma Pfizer PFE.N , Merck & Co MRK.N and Johnson &
Johnson JNJ.N also jumped as the potential split Congress was
likely to shield the industry from sweeping reform.
At 12:55 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 714.75 points, or 2.60%, at 28,194.78, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 107.91 points, or 3.20%, at 3,477.07 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 481.81 points, or 4.32%, at 11,642.38.
Materials .SPLRCM was the only major S&P index in the red.
The CBOE volatility index .VIX , a gauge for short-term
volatility, slipped to a two-week low after spiking to a
four-month high in the run-up to the election.
Still, the prospect of political uncertainty sent investors
to U.S. Treasuries, sparking the biggest one-day drop in 10- and
30-year bond yields since June. Shares of U.S. banks .SPXBK ,
which typically track Treasury yields, slipped 2.4%. US/
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 2.06-to-1 on the NYSE
and 1.60-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 46 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 93 new highs and 16 new lows.
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S&P 500 in first terms: Trump vs Obama https://tmsnrt.rs/34Vuvjy
Markets under different presidents during history https://tmsnrt.rs/3p35jj4
Trump and the stock market https://tmsnrt.rs/31QeDN8
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