Stock Market Outlook for Election Day

US elections are taking place today and the stock market will open as usual. Before the market closed on Monday, all three major indices were down.

The Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.33%, with the Dow Jones dropping 0.61% ahead of Tuesday’s opening. The S&P 500 is down as well, with a decrease of 0.28%.

What we expect for the week following the election is choppy trading, if the last election is any indication. Previous elections all the way back to 1980 show similar trends of doubt. There will be even more uncertainty as investors try to determine how a new president will affect the market and make predictions about which stocks will last after major changes occur.

The economy is sure to be a major area of focus for whoever wins, as the state of the US jobs market, inflation, gas prices, and other pressing economic issues have been repeated talking points for this election cycle. One of the first things that voters will expect the new president to address is the economy in some way or another.

The Election’s Final Stage

Voters are going to the polls today around the country, although many early voters have already cast their ballots. The early numbers strongly suggest a neck and neck race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped out of the presidential race not long ago to back Trump, leaving no other major candidate to oppose the two big ones. It is too early to call the race at this point, and it could easily go either way.

There will likely be very trepidatious trading today as investors and analysts hold their breath waiting for election results. We anticipate most of the trading will take place on the stalwart stocks, like Nvidia, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and Google, which are all expected to do well no matter who wins the election.

Stocks that are likely to take a beating if Harris wins include Tesla and Pfizer- Tesla for its association with CEO Elon Musk, who is outspoken against Harris, and Pfizer for the proposed profit-cutting acts Harris plans to launch against drug companies.

If Trump wins, then renewable energy stocks may take a hit, as many of them are waiting on promises from Harris to help fund them. Stay tuned as we share market reactions to the election results on this site.