U.S. stock futures are moving higher in early trading as race results begin to roll in. Dow Futures rallied over 100 points before curbing some of those gains. The Nasdaq rose in tandem and the S&P was little changed.
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Equities appeared to get a light boost after tight races, such as the Florida, showed the Republicans holding a slight lead led. In the gubernatorial race, Republican Ron DeSantis was marginally ahead against Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. In the Senate rate, Republican Rick Scott held a lead over Democrat Bill Nelson. In the Tennessee Senate Race, Republican Marsha Blackburn defeated Democrat Phil Bredesen.
Even with these wins, the Fox News Decision Desk is projecting that Democrats will take control of the house for the first time in eight years, a blow for President Trump who campaigned fiercely for his party heading into the midterms.
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Some investors were concerned the Democrats would sweep the Republicans in tight races, in a so called “blue wave”, yet early signs indicate the voting may not be a landslide. The Democrats, particularly those seen as potential Presidential contenders in 2020, saw victory. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts won their races. FOX Business has been covering the national and local economic and business issues impacting voters.
While trading is light and there are several hours to go until the balance of power in the Senate and House are determined, early U.S. and global trading is being viewed as a positive. Asian markets, including Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Japan’s Nikkei, were seeing early gains as well.
U.S. equities rallied on Tuesday across the board as Americans hit the polls in a highly contested election, perhaps the most heated in the history if midterms, according to political watchers.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | %Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 25635.01 | +173.31 | +0.68% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 7375.9644 | +47.11 | +0.64% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 2755.45 | +17.14 | +0.63% |
All three of the major averages rose around 0.6 percent. For the Dow Jones Industrial Average it gained 173.31 points, the S&P 500 17.14 points and the Nasdaq Composite 47.11.
On Wednesday, as investors digest the race results many will also turn their attention to the Federal Reserve which begins its two day November meeting. While no change in rates is expected, policymakers are widely expected to hike rates in December.
The U.S. economy is on the upswing and further jobs data released on Tuesday supported the trend. There are 1.14 million more jobs in America compared to unemployed Americans, according to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLTS) survey for September. According to the latest JOLTS report, released Tuesday morning, the number of job openings decreased to 7.099 million on the last business day of September, slightly below the 7.10 million estimate. August job additions were revised higher to a record 7.293 million.
Suzanne O’Halloran is Managing Editor of FOXBusiness.com and is a graduate of Boston College. Follow her on Twitter @suzohalloran
