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* Nasdaq futures surge on Big Tech play
* Banks track declines in Treasury yields
* Investors want decisive result and path to stimulus
* Futures up: Dow 0.47%, S&P 1.30%, Nasdaq 3.14%
(Updates prices, add comments)
By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Susan Mathew
Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures swung to gains in
volatile trading on Wednesday as investors faced the prospect of
a drawn-out and potentially contested U.S. election result after
President Donald Trump took the lead in some key states.
Both Trump and Biden claimed they were on course for victory
after results for a majority of states were called. Trump went
further, claiming falsely that the election was being "stolen"
from him. The knife-edge election and the prospect of an acrimonious
legal battle to determine the winner sent S&P e-mini futures
EScv1 tumbling 1.15% earlier, but they recovered to trade up
1.3% by 4:38 a.m. ET (0938 GMT).
"The indecisiveness in futures is not surprising because we
don't yet have a clear result," said Nicolas Janvier, head of
U.S. equities at Columbia Threadneedle in London.
Trump won the battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and Texas,
dashing Biden's hopes for a decisive early victory, but Biden
said he was confident, and was on track to winning the White
House by taking three key Rust Belt states.
Investors for months have said they favor a definitive, fast
resolution to the election. Quickly settling the election would
clear the way for a deal on a stimulus package to help the
damaged U.S. economy. Analysts and traders have said the market
would be comfortable with a clear Trump victory.
Shares of technology mega-caps including Apple Inc AAPL.O ,
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Nvidia Corp NVDA.O surged more
than 3% in premarket trading with some investors pointing to a
lower threat of antitrust scrutiny for Big Tech under Trump than
under a Biden presidency.
Still, the prospect of prolonged political uncertainty also
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, which typically track Treasury yields, slipped between
0.6% and 1.4%. US/
Some infrastructure, renewable energy TAN and marijuana
MJ stocks, which analysts have identified as likely winners
from a Biden presidency, sank between 1.4% and 10.6%.
By 9:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 130 points, or
0.47%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 353.75 points, or
3.14%.
Early results also suggested the Democrats were less likely
than previously expected to take the Senate from Republicans in
a so-called blue wave, which could mean a more modest stimulus
deal.
On election night 2016, U.S. stock index futures plunged as
Trump pulled off an upset victory against Democrat Hillary
Clinton. However, the next day marked the start of the so-called
"Trump rally" that saw the S&P 500 jump 5% in a month, fueled by
promises of massive tax cuts and financial deregulation.
The S&P 500 has climbed about 57% since Trump's election in
2016, with the information technology index .SPLRCT surging
149% and energy .SPNY tumbling 56%, according to Datastream.
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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
"Biden" shares vs "Trump" shares https://tmsnrt.rs/38aZb1V
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