Wall Street opens in the green as traders pile in ahead of election

The main Wall Street indices have started in positive territory on Monday as investors seemed content to pile in ahead of Tuesday’s election. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.17% at 26,812, while the S&P 500 rose 1.14% to 3,307 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.92% to 11,011. “It’s perhaps surprising that we’re seeing the kind of moves we are, given what’s to come, but these markets have factored in a lot of negative developments over the last few weeks so in the grand scheme of things, these moves are pretty negligible”, said OANDA’s Craig Erlam. “Broadly speaking, we may see investors taking to the sidelines as we await early results from the election. Not only who’s going to be sat in the White House for the next four years, but who’s going to dominate the Senate, arguably equally as important if Joe Biden wants to deliver on his big promises. Assuming of course that the polls are to be believed”, he added. 7.41am: Wall Street expected to head higher as election looms As the Presidential election draws nearer, US traders are happy to pile into equities ahead of the result. Spread betting quotes suggest the Dow Jones Industrial Average will open at around 26,946, up 444 on Friday’s close. The broader-based S&P 500 is expected to clock in at 3,319, up 49 points while the NASDAQ Composite is tipped to advance 261 to 11,173. The big risk to the markets, according to Chris Tinker, the co-founder of Libra Investment Services, is a prolonged period before it becomes clear who has won. The consensus is that Biden is ahead of postal ballots, so it is likely that on votes on the night, Trump will appear to have won. “A better than expected outcome for markets – a clean win by either candidate, resolution of the COVID crisis via a vaccine or other game-changing events – could provide for a 20-50% upside from here,” Tinker suggested. Rachel Winter, an associate investment director at wealth management firm, Killik & Co, said Biden appears to be the favorite to win but then so was Hillary Clinton in 2016. “The margin between the two candidates is far narrower in some of the key swing states. Florida, which counts for 29 electoral votes, is considered a key battleground for the election and has a margin of just 1% between the candidates,” according to Winter. On the macroeconomic front, the US has the Institute of Management Supply’s (ISM) report for October, which is likely “likely to have strengthened further if the regional manufacturing surveys are any guide,” according to Daiwa Capital Markets, and the construction spending report for September. Daiwa is predicting the ISM index will edge up to 56.0% from 55.4% in September. Construction activity is expected to rise 1.5%. Five things to watch for on Monday: While the election is dominating most of the news cycle, earnings season is continuing to trickle on with a number of big hitters such as PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) due to deliver quarterly figures Also in the diary is Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), the owner of snack food brands including Oreo, Ritz, Toblerone and Cadbury’s Possible fallout from shopping mall owner CBL & Associates Properties Inc (NYSE:CBL), which filed for bankruptcy earlier this morning Oil majors may also be in focus as fresh lockdown measures across the world hammer crude prices There may be some political fireworks ahead of tomorrow’s election with a flurry of final polls likely as well as any comments from Trump and Biden as both candidates seek to rally supporters in crucial states in the final day of campaigning