US: Stocks rise for third straight day

WALL Street stocks rose for a third straight session Tuesday as the US midterm elections dominated attention ahead of key economic data later in the week.

With Republican challengers to President Joe Biden’s Democratic party expected to win at least one house of Congress, market watchers are anticipating gridlock in Washington – traditionally a benign scenario for equities.

“The positive spin the market is placing on gridlock is that it will remove some political uncertainty and will lessen the prospect of new tax hikes, further regulatory pressure and additional large spending plans,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with an increase of 1.0 per cent at 33,160.83.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent to 3,828.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 per cent to 10,616.20.

The gains came as investors looked ahead to Thursday’s critical consumer price report that will likely influence the course of US monetary policy.

SEE ALSO

US: Wall St opens higher as voting in midterm election begins

DECODING ASIA

Navigate Asia in
a new global order

Get the insights delivered to your inbox.

Among individual companies, Lyft sank 22.9 per cent as the ride-hailing firm reported a US$422.2 million loss even as it pointed to strong demand from customers. Analysts cited fears the company is losing market share to rival Uber.

DuPont jumped 7.3 per cent as the chemical maker reported better-than-expected results and announced a new US$5 billion share repurchase programme. AFP