US STOCKS-Wall St rallies on likelihood of divided U.S. Congress, Fed stands pat

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* Tech rally resumes as investors see U.S. policy gridlock
* Qualcomm surges after results
* Fed reiterates "whatever it takes" policy

(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments,
adds Fed statement; new byline, adds NEW YORK dateline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped on Thursday
as investors bet that Republicans would retain control of the
Senate and block any major policy changes under a possible Joe
Biden White House that could dampen corporate profits.
With votes still being counted in battleground states,
investors were abandoning cautious pre-election positioning,
driving all of Wall Street's main indexes up for a fourth
straight session.
While a fiscal stimulus package is now widely expected, the
size of any deal reached in a divided Congress is likely to be
much smaller than anticipated. This in turn will pressure the
U.S. Federal Reserve to pump more funds into the financial
system, supporting more buying of stocks. Stocks got a brief additional boost from the Fed's statement
on Thursday. The central bank kept its loose monetary policy
intact and again pledged to do whatever it can to sustain an
economy severely damaged by the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden was edging closer to victory after winning Michigan
and Wisconsin, but his Democratic party appeared unlikely to win
the Senate. This eased investor worries about tighter
regulations on Big Tech and a corporate tax hike.
"Long live the rally, it works for me but in some ways
investors may be setting themselves up for some disappointment
here along the margins," said Michael Arone, chief investment
strategist at State Street Global Advisors in Boston.
"Things are never as good or as bad as they seem, but
markets seem to be rallying pretty strongly in this
post-election environment."
Arone cautioned that it was not yet certain that Congress
will remain split, so there is a slim chance markets could be in
for a shock.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 575.05 points,
or 2.06%, to 28,422.71, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 77.76 points,
or 2.26%, to 3,521.2 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
310.07 points, or 2.68%, to 11,900.85.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, packed with "stay-at-home" corporate
winners under this year's lockdowns, gained over 2% and was
within striking distance of its Sept. 2 record closing high.
The Philadelphia SE semiconductor index .SOX surged 4.38%
to hit an all-time high, while technology .SPLRCT and
communication services .SPLRCL led gainers among S&P indexes.
All 11 of the major S&P 500 sectors moved higher in a broad
rally, and the VIX volatility index .VIX , which has risen in
recent months as investors feared the vote might spark falls in
shares, retreated to its lowest in three weeks.
The materials index .SPLRCM also touched a record, boosted
by a 6.55% rise in shares of U.S.-German industrial gas producer
Linde LIN.N .
Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O surged 13.08% after the chipmaker
forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue above estimates as it
predicted solid growth in 5G smart phones sales next year.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
4.93-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.23-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 72 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 149 new highs and 19 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 timeline https://tmsnrt.rs/31QeDN8
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