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NEW YORK, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- The state of the American economy continues to boost Hillary Clinton in the final hours before the 2016 presidential election begins. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared by 371 points on Monday -- the eve of the election -- for its largest single-day gain since March. The 2 percent jump put the index back above the 18,000-point mark (18,259.60).
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"The rally is all about Clinton having a better chance of winning," James Meyer, chief investment officer at Tower Bridge Advisors, told MarketWatch Monday. "To the extent Clinton's probability of winning changes, the market will change with it."
"Regardless of how you feel about either of the candidates, there's no doubt that a Clinton victory would involve less uncertainty than a Trump victory," J.P. Morgan strategist David Kelly told the Wall Street Journal. "Markets hate uncertainty, so if it looks more likely that Clinton will win, then I think that's what we're seeing in terms of the rally."
The S&P 500 also gained 2 percent (46 points) to finish at 2,131.52, and the Nasdaq surged 119 points (2.3 percent) to end Monday at 5,166.17.
The Dow's climb was also historic in that it was the best election eve performance since 1932.
Much of the productivity, experts said, is due to the FBI's announcement Sunday that no wrongdoing was found in its second look into Clinton's email use as secretary of state.
Monday's performance for the three major U.S. indices stood in contrast to minor losses Friday, which extended the S&P 500's longest losing streak (9 sessions) in 36 years. That streak, partly fueled by political uncertainty, came to an end Monday.
Monday's gains on Wall Street also represented the second economic boost to Clinton's campaign in as many business days. On Friday, the government said in its October labor report that 161,000 new jobs were added for the month, continuing the longest period of job growth in American history.
Many analysts say the positive economic news will likely be a last-minute boost for Clinton's campaign as it crosses the finish line Tuesday, as the former New York senator is expected to continue many of President Barack Obama's economic and fiscal policies.
Nonetheless, market volatility is almost always seen in the days before a U.S. presidential election.
"Depending on the outcome of November's U.S. election, it's possible that high levels of uncertainty could lead to swings in U.S. and global markets," NYSE Floor Governor Rich Barry said Monday. "We saw that chain of events come into play when the UK elected to leave the EU in June 2016; concern around how the decision would impact the global economy led to a volatility spike of more than 40 percent in U.S. equity markets."
