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* Banks track declines in Treasury yields
* Prison stocks fall as Biden resumes lead in betting
markets
* Investors want decisive result and path to stimulus
* Indexes up: Dow 2.30%, S&P 2.99%, Nasdaq 4.06%
(Updates to market open)
By Medha Singh and Sagarika Jaisinghani
Nov 4 (Reuters) - Technology stocks pushed Wall Street's
major averages higher on Wednesday as the race for the White
House went down to the wire, although investors remained worried
about the prospect of a contested result.
In a race that has been too close to call, both President
Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden still have
possible paths to reach the needed 270 Electoral College votes
to win as states keep counting a surge in mail-in ballots.
Ten of the 11 major S&P indexes were up in morning trading,
led by information technology .SPLRCT and healthcare .SPXHC
sectors, 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 as opposed to the front mirror."
Trump won the battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and Texas, but
former Vice President Biden said he was confident and was on
track to winning the White House by taking three key Rust Belt
states.
Biden was also back as favorite to win the election in
online betting markets, according to data from three
aggregators, after he overtook Trump in the state of Wisconsin.
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. The NYSE FANG+TM Index .NYFANG , which includes the core
FAANG stocks, jumped 3.5%.
However, some infrastructure, renewable energy TAN and
marijuana MJ stocks, seen as likely winners from a Biden
presidency, sank as much as 8%. 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%. US/
At 10:22 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 632.64 points, or 2.30%, at 28,112.67, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 100.78 points, or 2.99%, at 3,469.94 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 453.66 points, or 4.06%, at 11,614.24.
Materials .SPLRCM was the only S&P index in the red.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.67-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 38 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 70 new highs and nine 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
"Biden" shares vs "Trump" shares https://tmsnrt.rs/38aZb1V
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