Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 27, 2022 in New York City. Stocks continued their bullish gains on Thursday with the Dow climbing nearly 400 points after a new GDP report beat expectations.
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Stock futures were slightly higher on Tuesday evening as polls began to close in on the US midterm elections.
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.2%. Dow futures were slightly higher.
Stocks are coming off three straight days of gains, with the Dow climbing 333 points on Tuesday for its third straight session of gains of more than 1%. The stock’s rebound may be due in part to the election, where Wall Street expects Republicans to gain ground and create gridlock in Washington, DC.
Morgan Stanley’s chief U.S. strategist, Mike Wilson, told “Closing Bell” that a divided government could help ease concerns about inflation and higher interest rates going forward.
“To get more support for this rally, we think rates need to come down… Tonight’s election could be very important in that regard, because it looks like the House is going to go the Republican way. That means a mess . . . Probably less tax spending will be achieved,” Wilson said. He added that it was unclear whether markets had already priced in a big night for Republicans.
The recent market rally is coming at the end of a strong seasonal period. Historically, stocks tend to rise after midterm elections and the political clarity that comes with them, and the last two months of the year are considered a bullish period for investors.
One stock that weighed on futures was Disney, which fell more than 6% in extended trading after the entertainment giant missed estimates on top and bottom-line results for its fourth quarter fiscal