Two 59%+ winners, four above 25% in Aug – How this AI model keeps picking winners
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* Tech rally resumes as investors bet on policy gridlock
* Solar, infrastructure, trade-related stocks gain
* GM, Qualcomm surge after results
* Fed likely to lay low as election result remains clouded
* Futures up: Dow 1.32%, S&P 1.76%, Nasdaq 2.56%
(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to jump on Thursday as
investors bet on a Republican held Senate that would block any
moves by a Joe Biden administration to tighten regulation and
raise taxes on corporate America, even as the presidential
election remained too close to call.
Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 EScv1 surged as
much as 2%, while Nasdaq 100 NQcv1 futures gained 2.6% a day
after Wall Street's main indexes closed at more than one-week
highs.
With President Donald Trump and his Democrat rival Biden
still awaiting clarity from the battleground states expected to
decide the election, investors were returning to the core
setting of the past decade: buying stocks with the flood of
extra monetary stimulus coursing through the financial system.
Biden had edged closer to victory in the race for the White
House on Thursday after winning Michigan and Wisconsin, but
Democrats appeared unlikely to win the Senate, potentially
making it difficult for a Democrat administration to rein in Big
Tech and other businesses. "Markets prefer divided government," said Brian Levitt,
Invesco global market strategist.
"Incessant hand wringing over the key issues and concerns
over the prospects of higher taxes, a Green New Deal, changes to
the Affordable Care Act and much more appears to have been for
naught."
Shares of technology mega-caps including Apple Inc AAPL.O ,
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Alphabet Corp GOOGL.O , this year's
big "stay-at-home" gainers from coronavirus lockdowns, also
looked set to add to strong gains from Wednesday.
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.
Renewable energy, infrastructure, marijuana and
trade-sensitive stocks, which analysts have identified as
winning under a Biden administration, all edged higher after
underperforming in the previous session. But investors also sought the safety of bonds as the
prospect of a divided Congress dented expectations of a bumper
fiscal stimulus package that is critical to supporting a damaged
U.S. economy. Coronavirus risks also grew with new U.S.
infections setting a daily record. US/ Trump has alleged fraud in the election without providing
evidence, filed lawsuits and called for recounts, raising the
risk of weeks of partisan conflict.
Attention later in the day will be on the Federal Reserve's
latest policy statement after a two-day meeting, but with the
final result of the election still uncertain, the central bank
is expected to repeat its pledge to do whatever it can to help
the economy. By 8:39 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 367 points, or
1.32%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 60.5 points, or 1.76%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 301.25 points, or 2.56%.
Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O surged 14.3% after the chipmaker
forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue above Wall Street
estimates as it predicted sales of 5G smart phones would balloon
to more than half a billion units next year. General Motors Co GM.N gained 5.6% after posting a
stronger-than-expected profit, driven by renewed demand for
trucks and SUVs in the United States. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Trump and the stock market https://tmsnrt.rs/31QeDN8
S&P 500 in first terms: Trump vs Obama https://tmsnrt.rs/34Vuvjy
Markets under different presidents during history https://tmsnrt.rs/3p35jj4
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