Stocks Rally as Voters Head to Polls in USA Today

Stocks rallied early Tuesday, rising for the second straight day as voters head to the polls in the USA.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened with a gain of 331 points Tuesday, rising 1.2%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.7% and the S&P 500 rose 1%.

The market’s strong Election Day open comes after stocks closed with solid gains Monday, shaking off Wall Street’s worst week since March ahead of a potentially tumultuous week, according to the Hill, a US news web site.

The Dow closed with a gain of 423 points Monday, rising 1.6%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.4% and the S&P rose 1.2%.

Stocks have skyrocketed in value since US President Donald Trump was elected almost exactly four years ago and have largely recovered the losses taken during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump, unlike his predecessors, has tied himself closely to the success of the stock market and claimed without evidence that his election defeat would trigger a crash.

On the other hand, Wall Street traders said the market is likely to steam ahead under either Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden, extended uncertainty about the result of the presidential race or violence in its aftermath could rattle investors.

The week ahead also holds a flurry of other potentially market-moving events unrelated to the election.

The Federal Reserve’s policy making committee will meet Wednesday and Thursday and will be capped off with a press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

New data on weekly jobless claims will be released Thursday, the October jobs report will be released Friday, and a slew of major publicly traded will be announcing their third-quarter earnings throughout the week.

Stocks have skyrocketed in value since Trump was elected almost exactly four years ago and have largely recovered the losses taken during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

On the day of the election, Trump lambasted his critics, his opponent Joe Biden, and even Fox News in his final pitch to voters during his appearance on the network's Fox & Friends morning show on Election Day.