U.S. Stocks Jump More than 2% after FBI Clears Clinton
Wall Street stocks jumped more than 2 percent Monday as global markets rallied after the FBI cleared U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in an email probe.
Analysts described the gains as a relief rally in the final session before the U.S. vote Tuesday, on the presumption the FBI's announcement Sunday boosted the odds for Democrat Clinton, a clear favorite of investors over Republican Donald Trump.
"Now that uncertainty surrounding the FBI investigation has been lifted, investors believe Hillary Clinton will win tomorrow," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of BMO Private Bank.
The rally Monday ended a nine-day losing streak for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq that coincided with a tightening of election polls. Trump is viewed as a wildcard by markets because of his unpredictability and broadsides against the Federal Reserve, free trade and other targets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.1 percent to 18,259.60.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 2.2 percent to 2,131.52, its largest single-day gain in eight months, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 2.4 percent to 5,166.17.
The session also marked a reversal in the Vix volatility index, a benchmark for investor fear, which declined after nine straight gains.
J.J. Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, said the extent of the rally was surprising and suggested some investors had oversold. He said uncertainty about the election result remains, despite stock gains.
"It's hard to believe that without any results (except for early voting) the world's suddenly a happy place and there's no risk any more," Kinahan said.
Gains were broad-based, with large banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan rising more than 3 percent and large technology names including Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft winning 2.5 percent or more.
Drugmakers rallied after deep losses last week, with Merck gaining 2.1 percent, Biogen 6.7 percent and Mylan 4.5 percent.
Airlines were also upward-bound with American Airlines advancing 4.2 percent, Delta Air Lines 3.1 percent and United Continental 2.3 percent.
Source: Agence France Presse
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