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U.S. stocks close higher on Election Day

By Jonna Lorenz
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up more than 300 points on Election Day. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up more than 300 points on Election Day. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks edged higher on Election Day, marking the third straight day of gains as voters took to the polls to determine which party will control each house of Congress.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 333.83 points, or 1.02%, to close at 33,160.83. The S&P 500 rose 21.31 points, or 0.56%, to 3,828.11 and the Nasdaq Composite added 51.68 points, or 0.49%, to 10,616.2.

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Republicans are projected by many to regain control of the House in Tuesday's midterm elections, dividing the legislative and executive branches and making it more difficult for lawmakers to pass legislation on spending, taxes and regulations.

"If we have gridlock, that will probably be the best thing that could happen for the market," said Seth Cohan of The Wealth Alliance, according to CNBC. "The markets usually do very well when that happens."

Meera Chandan, FX strategist at JPMorgan, said election results are expected to have a modest effect on the markets.

"Markets should continue taking guidance more from the Fed's monetary policy decisions than from any new large fiscal packages," Chandan said, according to Yahoo Finance. "One wildcard worth flagging is the risk of renewed uncertainty around the debt ceiling."

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Cryptocurrency prices fell after crypto exchange Binance announced plans to buy rival FTX, fueling fears that the industry could be entering another meltdown. Bitcoin fell 0.57% to its lowest level since November 2020. Crypto exchange Coinbase closed down 10.6% and MicroStrategy fell 21%.

Tech stocks notched gains Tuesday, with Apple rising 0.42%, Alphabet climbing 0.46% and Microsoft closing up 0.44%.

Shares of Walt Disney fell in after-hours trading after the company reported disappointing earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter, overshadowing substantial growth in streaming subscribers.

Disney, often viewed as a bellwether for the U.S. economy, reported $162 million in earnings on $20.15 billion in revenue. Earnings per share were 30 cents, far below estimates of over 50 cents per share, sending shares of the company down 6% in after-hours trading.

The company's streaming service beat expectations with 12.1 million new Disney+ subscribers and 14.6 million total direct-to-consumer customers in the quarter.

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