S&P 500 Jumps 1.6%, Dow Surges 3% as Democrats Win Congress

The S&P 500 climbed 1.59% to close at 7,689.30, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 3.03% to 53,356.12, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.44% to 25,736.51. The Russell 2000, a benchmark of smaller companies, gained 1.58%, while the 10-year Treasury yield fell 1.17% to 4.893%. The VIX, a gauge of expected market volatility often called Wall Street's fear index, tumbled 20.45% to 16.57.

The biggest S&P 500 moves

Mosaic led gainers, up 17.32%, while Block climbed 15.28% after CNBC reported the payments company expects to reach its 2028 profit target a year early, citing gains from its investments in artificial intelligence. Zimmer Biomet rose 13.49% following its third-quarter results, according to a company release. Moderna advanced 13.11%; MarketWatch noted the vaccine maker's shares have climbed sharply this year on positive study results, though Wednesday's specific driver was not detailed. Stanley Black & Decker gained 13.10% after Benzinga reported the company's third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) cleared forecasts, aided by tariff refunds, and that it raised its full-year profit outlook.

On the downside, Fidelity National Information Services dropped 23.67% and Trimble fell 17.34%, both moving without an explanation given in the sources reviewed. Comfort Systems USA declined 15.08%, Datadog slid 14.42% after reporting results before Wednesday's open according to TheStreet, and Vistra fell 13.83% as utility shares broadly lagged the rally.

Sectors

Eight of the eleven sectors finished higher. Consumer discretionary led with a 4.24% gain, followed by financials, communication services, consumer staples and real estate, all up more than 3%. Energy lagged badly, down 4.72%, while industrials fell 1.09% and technology was roughly flat, down 0.01%.

New highs and lows

Fifty-two S&P 500 stocks touched a 52-week high today, while three touched a 52-week low. Among those hitting highs were Block, Zimmer Biomet and Moderna, while Fidelity National Information Services, Vistra and NRG Energy touched new lows.

On the calendar

The ADP Employment Change report for October showed private payrolls rose by 86,000, above the 69,000 consensus, Reuters reported. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Services purchasing managers' index (PMI) for October came in at 54.5, just under the 54.8 forecast. The trade balance for September showed a deficit of 105 billion dollars, narrower than the 108 billion dollar deficit expected, as exports of 321.5 billion dollars outpaced the 320.3 billion dollar forecast while imports of 426.6 billion dollars came in below the 429.1 billion dollar estimate. The average 30-year mortgage rate for the week ended October 30 was 7.3%, down from 7.37% a week earlier.

Tomorrow, initial jobless claims for the week ended October 31 are expected to come in at 196,000, with continuing claims for the week ended October 24 forecast at 1,710,000. Reporting before the open will be Air Products, Becton Dickinson, Cardinal Health, Cigna, Cummins, ConocoPhillips, DTE Energy, Duke Energy, Evergy, Global Payments, Iron Mountain and Kimberly-Clark.