U.S. stocks shot higher out of the gate Tuesday and remained elevated throughout the session, leading to much prognostication about what message the market was trying to send about the presidential election.
Gun stocks and marijuana stocks improved, perhaps signaling optimism about a Joe Biden win. But there also was a run in financial stocks, which would largely benefit from a second Donald Trump term.
Perhaps, however, investors were cheered not by who they think will win, but the perceived margin of victory.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"With the way the retail market is behaving, it's clear that investors are assuming a quick and early conclusion to the elections process," says Dan Raju, CEO of financial technology and brokerage services firm Tradier. "The very fact that the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq are all trading high on an election day indicates confidence."
"Investors are certainly not expecting a long period of uncertainty – they're feeling that things are predictable, contrary to many expectations pre-Election Day."
Either way, investors on both sides of the political aisle exited the session as winners, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 2.1% to 27,480.
Other action in the stock market today:
- The S&P 500 climbed 1.8% to 3,369.
- The Nasdaq Composite improved by 1.9% to 11,160.
- The Russell 2000 popped 2.9% to 1,614.
What Comes Long After Tomorrow Passes?
It's all in voters' hands now. And considering that a firm presidential election result is unlikely to come in until later tonight (at the earliest!), we'll instead spend this space casting an eye toward the future.
For the final two months of the year, as well as throughout 2021, investors will be presented with several new options for growth – thanks to initial public offerings (IPOs).
Whether you like blue-chip powerhouses such as many of Warren Buffett's favorite growth holdings, or small-cap tech stocks that are increasingly making a name for themselves, they all have something in common: at least some track record of performance and loads of publicly available data.
IPOs, on the other hand, are more of a guessing game at first. But they're nonetheless popular among investors, especially in cases when they're for well-known brands that retail investors have long wanted to put money behind.
We have our eye on a baker's dozen of initial public offerings (IPOs) that are expected to launch in late 2020 or sometime next year. IPOs are far from slam dunks, so investors should proceed with caution, but each of these names has the potential to be an exciting addition to most growth portfolios.
-
AI Stocks Lead Nasdaq's 398-Point Nosedive: Stock Market TodayThe major stock market indexes do not yet reflect the bullish tendencies of sector rotation and broadening participation.
-
Top Tech Gifts to Grab at Walmart Before ChristmasBig savings on Apple, Bose, HP, Vizio and more while there's still time to shop.
-
AI Appliances Aren’t Exciting Buyers…YetThe Kiplinger Letter Artificial intelligence is being embedded into all sorts of appliances. Now sellers need to get customers to care about AI-powered laundry.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Coca-Cola Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayEven with its reliable dividend growth and generous stock buybacks, Coca-Cola has underperformed the broad market in the long term.
-
If You Put $1,000 into Qualcomm Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You Would Have TodayQualcomm stock has been a big disappointment for truly long-term investors.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Home Depot Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayHome Depot stock has been a buy-and-hold banger for truly long-term investors.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Bank of America Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayBank of America stock has been a massive buy-and-hold bust.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Oracle Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayORCL Oracle stock has been an outstanding buy-and-hold bet for decades.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Sherwin-Williams Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodaySherwin-Williams stock has clobbered the broader market by a wide margin for a long time.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into UnitedHealth Group Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayUNH stock was a massive market beater for ages — until it wasn't.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Berkshire Hathaway Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have TodayBerkshire Hathaway is a long-time market beater, but the easy money in BRK.B has already been made.
