Dow adds 554 points, as stocks post best election day since 2008

The economy and rising COVID-19 cases take center stage for voters

Stocks rallied posting the second-best Election Day performance ever as voters hit the polls to cast their ballots for the next president either former Vice President Joe Biden or incumbent Donald Trump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 554 points, a gain of 2%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.8%.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 44722.06 -138.25 -0.31%
SP500 S&P 500 5998.74 -22.89 -0.38%

It was a broad rally with 10 of 11 S&P sectors rising rally led by industrials, financials and consumer discretionary names, as energy slipped.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
XLI INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF 143.24 -0.46 -0.32%
XLF FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF 51.28 +0.14 +0.27%
XLY CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF 220.08 -1.07 -0.48%
XLE ENERGY SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF 95.10 -0.09 -0.09%

The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite gained 1.8% led by Tesla and Walgreens.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 19218.16623 +157.69 +0.83%
TSLA TESLA INC. 345.16 +12.27 +3.69%
WBA WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE INC. 9.02 -0.04 -0.44%

The gains extend the broad rally in equities Monday and captured the best run since 2008 and second-best since 1984, as tracked by Dow Jones Market Data Group.

OIL RECOVERS

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose for a second day, climbing 2.8% to over $37 per barrel.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
XOM EXXON MOBIL CORP. 117.83 -0.23 -0.19%
CVX CHEVRON CORP. 162.21 +0.28 +0.17%
COP CONOCOPHILLIPS 106.14 -2.20 -2.03%

Despite the rise in crude oil, shares of big oil companies fell on Tuesday, as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Conoco Phillips all declined.

Among the issues for voters is an economy in a slow recovery. Trump, during the final hour of trading, touted the recent 33.1% jump in GDP.

While Biden tweeted a compilation of his characteristics including "science over fiction"...

Trump's handling of the pandemic has drawn criticism as cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. continue to surge, with 93,000 daily cases tallied on Monday. Nearly 9.3 million Americans have been infected with the virus, resulting in over 231,000 deaths, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins University.

STOCKS SEE ELECTION BOOST, SENATE RACES NARROW

ANT IPO ON ICE

Fintech giant Ant Group's highly anticipated $34.5 billion initial public offering, which would be the world's largest, has been suspended on the Shanghai Exchange. Billionaire Jack Ma was summoned to a closed-door meeting, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Alibaba shares, the other company he founded, fell on the news.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BABA ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD. 86.60 +1.43 +1.68%

LIGHT ON EARNINGS

Earnings were light Tuesday but a few names to note.

Humana said earnings and revenue beat analysts' expectations, sending shares higher by nearly 4%. Eaton and McKesson were up 3.5% and 5.7%, respectively, as both companies also beat analysts' expectations.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
HUM HUMANA INC. 296.78 +1.29 +0.44%
ETN EATON CORP. PLC 371.96 -5.27 -1.40%
MCK MCKESSON CORP. 626.70 +1.82 +0.29%

Fox Corp., the parent of FOX Business and Fox News, also reported profit and revenue that came in ahead of expectations. Shares fell, however, declining 1.4%.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
FOXA FOX CORP. 46.77 -0.35 -0.74%

After the close of trading, financial services companies Prudential Financial and Alleghany Corp report quarterly results.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
PRU PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC. 129.41 -0.11 -0.08%
Y NO DATA AVAILABLE - - -

In other corporate news, PayPal Holdings Inc. shares fell after the financial technology giant offered tepid guidance after a solid quarter.

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
PYPL PAYPAL HOLDINGS INC. 86.53 -0.24 -0.28%

PAYPAL SEES PANDEMIC BOOST, VENMO TO HIT $900M IN REVENUE

TWITTER IN SPOTLIGHT

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
TWTR NO DATA AVAILABLE - - -

Twitter shares are in the spotlight on Tuesday after CEO Jack Dorsey will keep his job after a review from activist investor Elliott Management as Dorsey has seen his net worth fall over $178 million since last Friday.

SPARSE ECONOMIC DATA

The last remaining bit of economic data before the polls close was released with September factory orders rising 1.1%, even with expectations and up from 0.7% in the prior month.

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In other commodities, gold ticked higher to more than $1,900 an ounce, up almost 1%.

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