U.S. futures jumped on Wednesday, as midterm elections played out as expected, with Congress split after Democrats won the House of Representatives but Republicans kept control of the Senate.
The S&P 500 futures rose 20 points or 0.75% to 2,779.75 as of 6:50 AM ET (11:50 GMT) while Dow futures were up 153 points, or 0.60%, to 25,794.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased 73 points, or 1.05%, to 7,090.25.
Investor confidence was boosted after the midterm elections, as a gridlock in Congress has historically given strong returns in equity markets.
The results were in line with forecasts and seen as a referendum on U.S. President Donald Trump’s term.
Despite the split, Trump tweeted that the elections were a “tremendous success.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting. While no rate hike is expected, traders expect the Fed to raise rates in December.
Earnings season continues, with results from Twenty-First Century Fox Inc, Qualcomm, Office Depot Inc, Humana, and others.
Cloud communications company Twilio Inc surged 16.87% after its earnings came in higher than expected, while General Electric rose 2.44% and Apple gained 1.09%. Intel gained 1.44% while Microsoft was up 1.28% and JPMorgan inched up 0.91%.
Elsewhere, Zillow Group Inc slumped 19.39% after its third quarter revenue missed estimates. Sprint Corp fell 2.90% while DexCom Inc was down 2.23%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.97% to $1,235.70 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.74% to $62.67 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.62% to 95.52.
Source: Investing.com