Stocks moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday, adding to the gains posted in the previous session. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside on the day.
The major averages finished the session firmly in positive territory. The Dow spiked 554.98 points or 2.1 percent to 27,480.03, the Nasdaq surged up 202.96 points or 1.9 percent to 11,160.57 and the S&P 500 jumped 58.92 points or 1.8 percent to 3,369.16.
The rally on Wall Street came as traders seem to be hoping for a definitive outcome from today’s presidential election.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden holds a clear lead in national polls and is also leading in several key swing states in the race to defeat President Donald Trump.
Traders seem optimistic that the results of the election will be known at the end of the night without the need for lawsuits and recounts.
Trump has repeatedly raised questions about the legitimacy of mail-in ballots and has not committed to a peaceful transition of power.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing new orders for U.S. manufactured goods showed a significant increase in the month of September.
The Commerce Department said factory orders jumped by 1.1 percent in September after rising by a revised 0.6 percent in August.
Economists had expected factory orders to surge up by 1.0 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
Networking stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 4.1 percent.
Shares of Arista Networks (ANET) moved sharply higher after the networking company reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Considerable strength was also visible among transportation stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent jump by the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
Banking, computer hardware and steel stocks also saw significant strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Tuesday, although the Japanese markets were closed. China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged up by 2 percent.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index spiked by 2.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index soared by 2.4 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries came under pressure after ending the previous session modestly higher. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 3.3 basis points to 0.882 percent.
Looking Ahead
Trading on Wednesday may be impacted by whether or not the presidential election has a definitive outcome.
Reports on private sector employment, the U.S. trade deficit and service sector activity may also attract some attention.
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