Wall Street to power higher as voters head to the polls

It looks full-steam ahead for US equities as Americans go to the polls. With the Dow Jones Industrial Average set to climb 433 points to 17,358, the S&P 500 tipped to climb 41 points to 3,351 and the NASDAQ Composite in line for a 187 point gain to 11,145, it looks like traders are increasingly confident they will get the result they want, namely a decisive one. “As Donald Trump and Joe Biden head into the final campaign sprint, election odds have narrowed but importantly Biden has never slipped behind in any of the swing states that are likeliest to decide the election,” said Eleanor Creagh at Saxo Bank. “However, nothing is a given. Election Day could still be overwhelmed by in-person votes for Trump who has drawn huge crowds across Pennsylvania, which could be a crucial swing state. Analysts have also pointed to ‘shy’ Trump voters evading pollster’s as just one factor in why polling still in 2020 may not have captured the reality on the ground,” she suggested. In a similar vein, Chris Beauchamp at IG Group cautions that investors might be getting ahead of themselves “given the potential for a long, drawn-out battle over the result of the US election in coming weeks should no obvious result appear by this time tomorrow morning”. While investors wait for the US polls to close, on the data front today there are the full US factory orders report for September and news on automobile sales during October. Four things to watch for on Tuesday: The election will obviously be dominating the news cycle today and overnight, but aside from the presidential race Senate elections will also be in focus as to whether the Democrats or Republicans control the chamber could have implications for any US stimulus, Big Tech regulation and the oil & gas industry for the next few years Investors may also wish to keep an eye on the dollar, which could find itself under pressure depending on the policy outlook arising from the results of the vote In the earnings calendar, US car insurance group Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) is scheduled to deliver third quarter figures, as well as health insurance group Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) While the macroeconomic diary is a little sparse, US factory orders for September may provide a little bit of info on how the American economy is faring. Orders rose 0.7% in August and are forecast to rise 0.6% for September