U.S. stocks rallied Tuesday as voters headed to the polls on the last day of the presidential election and as more data piled up showing the economy remains solid.
The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to pull closer to its record set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 427 points, or 1%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.4%.
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Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
The Fearless Girl statue stands in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 shows a broadcast talking about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A currency trader stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The market’s main event was the election, even if the result may not be known for days or weeks as officials count all the votes. Such uncertainty could upset markets, along with an upcoming meeting by the Federal Reserve on interest rates later this week. The widespread expectation is for it to cut its main interest rate for a second straight time.
Investors have already made moves in anticipation of a win by either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris. But Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, suggests not getting caught up in such pre-election moves, or even those immediately after the polls close, “which we believe will face inevitable tempering, if not outright reversals, either before or after Inauguration Day.”
The Dow and S&P 500 futures were up slightly, while the Nasdaq futures were unchanged as of 7:27 p.m. Eastern time, as several states on the East Coast closed polls and early returns began coming in.
In Asia, some benchmarks were moving higher in early trading Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was 0.7% higher, while the Kospi in Seoul was up 0.5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.8%.
Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind the former president’s Truth Social platform, tumbled 20% in after-hours trading. It closed 1.2% lower during the regular session, when trading in the stock was halted multiple times due to volatility. The stock, which tends to move more with Trump’s re-election odds than on its own profit prospects, rallied strongly last month.
Despite all the uncertainty heading into the final day of voting, many professional investors suggest keeping the focus on the long term. The broad U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, even if each party’s policies can help and hurt different industries’ profits.
Since 1945, the S&P 500 has risen in 73% of the years where a Democrat was president and 70% of the years when a Republican was the nation’s chief executive, according to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.
The U.S. stock market has risen more in magnitude when Democrats have been president, in part because a loss under George W. Bush’s term hurt the Republicans’ average. Bush took over as the dot-com bubble was deflating and exited office when the 2008 global financial crisis and Great Recession were devastating markets.
Besides who will be president, other questions hanging over the market include whether the White House will be working with a unified Congress or one split by political parties, as well as whether the results will be contested.
The general hope among investors is often for split control of the U.S. government because that’s more likely to keep the status quo and avoid big changes that could drive the nation’s debt much, much higher.
As for a contested election, Wall Street has some precedent to look back to. In 2000, the S&P 500 dropped 5% in about five weeks after Election Day before Al Gore conceded to George W. Bush. That, though, also happened during the near-halving of the S&P 500 from March 2000 to October 2002 as the dot-com bubble deflated.
Four years ago, the S&P 500 rose the day after polls closed, even though a winner wasn’t yet clear. And it kept going higher after Trump refused to concede and challenged the results, which created plenty of uncertainty. A large part of that rally was due to excitement about the potential for a vaccine for COVID-19, which had just shut down the global economy.
The S&P 500 ended up rising 69.6% from Election Day 2020 through Monday, following President Joe Biden’s win. It rallied to records as the U.S. economy bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic and managed to avoid a recession despite a jump in inflation.
In the four years before that, the S&P 500 rose 57.5% from Election Day 2016 through Election Day 2020, in part because of cuts to tax rates signed by Trump.
On Tuesday, excitement about the artificial-intelligence boom helped lift Wall Street following a strong profit report from Palantir Technologies. So did a report showing growth accelerated last month for U.S. services businesses, beating economists’ expectations for a slowdown.
The Institute for Supply Management said it was the strongest growth in more than two years. The report offered more hope that the U.S. economy will remain solid and avoid a long-feared recession following the worst inflation in generations.
Palantir jumped 23.5%. CEO Alexander Karp said, “We absolutely eviscerated this quarter, driven by unrelenting AI demand that won’t slow down.”
All told, the S&P 500 rose 70.07 points to 5,782.76 on Tuesday. The Dow gained 427.28 to 42,221.88, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 259.19 to 18,439.17.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.28% from 4.29% late Monday.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
People pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
The Fearless Girl statue stands in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
Trader Jonathan Mueller works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 shows a broadcast talking about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A currency trader stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screen showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean investigators on Friday were attempting to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law decree last month, as hundreds of his supporters gathered at his residence in Seoul, vowing to block their approach.
About 20 investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police officers were seen entering the gate of Yoon’s residence in Seoul to execute a warrant for his detainment.
It wasn’t clear whether the president would cooperate with authorities trying to detain him. Yoon in a defiant New Year’s message to conservative supporters rallying outside his residence said he will “fight to the end” against “anti-state forces.” His lawyers have described the warrant to detain him as “invalid” and “illegal.”
There were no immediate indications of a standoff between investigators and presidential security staff.
Investigators from the anti-corruption agency were earlier seen loading boxes into several vehicles before leaving their building in the city of Gwacheon early in the morning. Television footage later showed some of those vehicles weaving between police buses that tightly packed and barricaded the streets near Yoon’s residence.
The office didn’t immediately confirm how many investigators were sent.
A Seoul court issued a warrant for Yoon’s detention on Tuesday after he evaded multiple requests to appear for questioning and blocked searches of his office in Seoul, hindering an investigation into whether his ill-conceived power grab on Dec. 3 amounted to rebellion.
The warrant is valid for one week, and investigators may make another attempt to detain Yoon if they are unable to do so on Friday.
Thousands of police officers were gathered at Yoon’s residence. There were no immediate reports of clashes with protesters.
If Yoon is detained, the anti-corruption agency will have 48 hours to investigate him and either request a warrant for his formal arrest or release him. Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several top military commanders have already been arrested over their roles in the martial law enactment.
Yoon’s lawyers have argued the court’s detainment warrant is invalid, claiming that the anti-corruption agency lacks the legal authority to investigate rebellion charges. They also accuse the court of bypassing a law that says locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge.
Oh Dong-woon, the anti-corruption agency’s chief prosecutor, has indicated that police forces might be deployed if Yoon’s security service resists the detention attempt.
But Yoon’s legal team issued a statement on Thursday warning that any attempt by the anti-corruption agency to use police units for his detention would exceed their legal authority. The lawyers said police officers could face arrest by either the “presidential security service or any citizens” if they try to detain Yoon. They didn’t elaborate further on the claim.
South Korean law permits anyone to make an arrest to stop an active crime, and critics accused Yoon of inciting his supporters to obstruct attempts to detain him.
Yoon Kap-keun, the president’s lawyer, filed a challenge with the Seoul Western District Court on Thursday to block both the detention warrant for Yoon Suk Yeol and a related search warrant for his residence. The lawyer argued that both warrants violate criminal laws and the constitution.
The liberal opposition Democratic Party, which drove the legislative vote that impeached Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 14 over his imposition of martial law, accused the president of trying to mobilize his supporters to block his detention and called for law enforcement authorities to execute the warrant immediately.
Braving subfreezing temperatures, thousands of Yoon’s supporters rallied for hours near his residence on Thursday amid a heavy police presence, waving South Korean and American flags while chanting, “Nullify the impeachment!” and “We will protect President Yoon Suk Yeol!” Officers removed some protesters who laid down on a road leading to the entrance of Yoon’s residence, but there were no immediate reports of major clashes.
Some experts believe the anti-corruption agency, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities, would not risk clashing with Yoon’s security service, which has said it will provide security to Yoon in accordance with the law. The office may instead issue another summons for Yoon to appear for questioning if they are not able to execute the detainment warrant by the Jan. 6 deadline.
Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended following a National Assembly vote to impeach him on Dec. 14 over his imposition of martial law, which lasted only hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. Yoon’s fate now lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.
To formally end Yoon’s presidency, at least six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must vote in favor.
The National Assembly voted last week to also impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who became acting president after Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of Yoon’s case.
Facing growing pressure, the new acting president, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, appointed two new justices on Tuesday, which possibly increased the chances of the court upholding Yoon’s impeachment.
Yoon’s imposition of martial law ended after only six hours when the National Assembly voted 190-0 to lift it despite attempts by heavily armed soldiers to prevent them from voting.
Yoon has defended his martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, portraying it as a temporary warning against the Democratic Party, which he has described as an “anti-state” force obstructing his agenda with its legislative majority.
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, as police offices stand guard near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Police officers drag away supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lie down on the ground as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lie down on the ground as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol lie down on the ground as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Police officers escort away a supporter of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as Yoon faces potential arrest after a court on Tuesday approved a warrant for his arrest, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The signs read, "Oppose impeachment." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The signs read, "Oppose impeachment." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The signs read, "Oppose impeachment." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to oppose a court having issued a warrant to detain Yoon, near the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The signs read, "Oppose impeachment." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
FILE - In this photo provided by the South Korean President Office, the country's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 14, 2024. (South Korean Presidential Office via AP, File)
