THE ONE THING
Democrats took control of both the House and the Senate overnight, and Nasdaq-100 futures fell as much as 2.4% before recovering into positive territory by early morning, according to Reuters. The VIX is quoted at 18.27, down more than 12% from its prior close, which suggests the market is treating a divided government as a known quantity rather than a shock. The open question for client portfolios is whether AI and data-center spending now faces tougher regulatory scrutiny, since that worry drove the overnight tech weakness.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
| S&P 500 | 7,568.92 | 0.36% vs prior close |
| Russell 2000 | 279.79 | 0.23% vs prior close |
| Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) | 685.28 | 0.62% vs prior close |
| Gold (GLD) | 359.26 | -0.66% vs prior close |
| High Yield (HYG) | 76.98 | 0.12% vs prior close |
NEXT BIG NUMBER
Friday brings the October payrolls report, with consensus at 55,000 jobs versus 29,000 in September and unemployment expected to hold at 4.2%, per Newsquawk. Today also delivers ISM Services (expected 54.7) and the Treasury quarterly refunding announcement, and the Bank of England is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points on Thursday.
ADVISOR TIP OF THE DAY
When clients call about the election, anchor the conversation to their plan rather than the headline. S&P 500 futures went from a 1.4% loss to positive territory within hours, per Reuters, which is a useful reminder that the first reaction to political news is often not the lasting one.