US stocks close sharply higher in Election Day rally

4:05pm: US stocks fly high as election closes US stocks closed sharply higher as traders and investors eased their concerns over a delayed or contested presidential election result. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index had their best day since early June on hopes for a clean victory for Democrat Joe Biden. On the day, the DJIA jumped 554 points, or 2.06%, to 27,480. The S&P 500 rose 1.78% to 3,369 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.85% to 11,160.  12:20 pm: Markets enjoy pre-election bounce In the US, markets are seeing a similar election anticipation bounce. At about noon ET, the Dow was up more than 600 points, 2.3%, to 27,530.6; the Nasdaq Composite gained 208 points, 1.9%, to 11,166.6; and the S&P 500 improved 65 points, 2%, to 3,375.6. "The mood on Wall Street is optimistic even though things are heating up in terms of the election. President Trump and Joe Biden are going head to head today," CMC Markets UK analyst David Madden wrote. "Biden is leading in the opinion polls, and even though he is considered to be less pro-business than Mr Trump, stocks are showing decent gains. When the election is over, we should have a clearer picture in terms of what to expect from the planned coronavirus stimulus package, so it seems that dealers just want the event out of the way, but hopefully a clear winner emerges. A contested result would likely weigh on stocks." CNBC's Jim Cramer believes markets will dip following the election regardless of the outcome, which would present a good oppotunity for investors to buy. “I know that sounds simplistic, but the market is simplistic,” Cramer said on Squawk on the Street. “We always try to make the market as some sort of Einsteinian philosophy.” 10:30 am: Proactive North America headlines: CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK) becomes Platinum Sponsor for upcoming Microgrid Knowledge 2020 Global Conference XPhyto Therapeutics Corp (CSE:XPHY) (OTCMKTS:XPHYF) (FRA:4XT) subsidiary Vektor Pharma to develop psilocybin active pharmaceutical ingredients with German university NetCents Technology Inc (CSE:NC) (OTCQB:NTTCF) (FRA:26N to allow users to buy cryptocurrency with credit card Group Eleven Resources Corp (CVE:ZNG) (OTCMKTS:GRLVF) (FRA:3GE) advances three regional prospects at PG West zinc project with latest drilling Humanigen Inc (NASDAQ:HGEN) (FRA:0KB2) inks licensing deal for coronavirus drug lenzilumab in South Korea and the Philippines Gold Resource Corp (NYSEAMERICAN:GORO) (FRA:GIH) reports on resilient third quarter with both Mexico and US operations generating free cashflow NexTech AR Solutions Corp (OTCQB:NEXCF) (CSE:NTAR) (FRA:N29) expands into Asia-Pacific market after establishing presence in Singapore Pacific Empire Minerals Corp (CVE:PEMC) (OTCQB:PEMSF) hires OreQuest Consultants to design program at Jean Marie copper-gold project O3 Mining  Inc (CVE:OIII) (OTCMKTS:OQMGF) reports near-surface gold drill results at its Malartic property in Val D'Or, Quebec 9.40am: US benchmarks start on front foot The main stock market indices in New York have made a positive start to Tuesday’s session as voting in the US presidential election continues at pace. In the early minutes of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.16% at 27,238, while the S&P 500 rose 0.91% to 3,340 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.44% to 11,005. OANDA’s Craig Erlam has highlighted that the burst of positivity ahead of the polls closing alter could be party due to recovery following recent declines in the market, as well as the reasonably strong polling lead by Joe Biden heading into today’s vote. “The Dow fell 6% last week and the two the preceded it weren't particularly good either. It seems the positioning ahead of the election has already been very risk averse, heavily aided by Covid lockdowns. So perhaps some investors are sensing opportunity ahead of the polls closing. Naturally it helps when one candidate has a hefty lead in the polls which reduces the possibility that the result will be contested. This could bring considerable uncertainty in the coming weeks, and at the worst possible time”, he said. “The polls certainly seem to indicate that the race for the White House is almost a foregone conclusion. But if I've learned anything about Trump, it's that he won't take defeat lightly and he can't be counted out. I fear it may not be as straightforward as the markets seem to suggest. And that's before we question whether markets are as comfortable with Biden as they've appeared and we've all tried to justify. Four years ago, the markets appeared to perceive Trump as a threat and the consensus leading up to the election was that he would hold them back. And we all know what happened next. Could the inverse be true this week?”, Erlam added. 7.50am: Wall Street to power higher It looks full-steam ahead for US equities as Americans go to the polls. With the Dow Jones Industrial Average set to climb 433 points to 17,358, the S&P 500 tipped to climb 41 points to 3,351 and the NASDAQ Composite in line for a 187 point gain to 11,145, it looks like traders are increasingly confident they will get the result they want, namely a decisive one. “As Donald Trump and Joe Biden head into the final campaign sprint, election odds have narrowed but importantly Biden has never slipped behind in any of the swing states that are likeliest to decide the election,” said Eleanor Creagh at Saxo Bank. “However, nothing is a given. Election Day could still be overwhelmed by in-person votes for Trump who has drawn huge crowds across Pennsylvania, which could be a crucial swing state. Analysts have also pointed to ‘shy’ Trump voters evading pollster’s as just one factor in why polling still in 2020 may not have captured the reality on the ground,” she suggested. In a similar vein, Chris Beauchamp at IG Group cautions that investors might be getting ahead of themselves “given the potential for a long, drawn-out battle over the result of the US election in coming weeks should no obvious result appear by this time tomorrow morning”. While investors wait for the US polls to close, on the data front today there are the full US factory orders report for September and news on automobile sales during October. Four things to watch for on Tuesday: The election will obviously be dominating the news cycle today and overnight, but aside from the presidential race Senate elections will also be in focus as to whether the Democrats or Republicans control the chamber could have implications for any US stimulus, Big Tech regulation and the oil & gas industry for the next few years Investors may also wish to keep an eye on the dollar, which could find itself under pressure depending on the policy outlook arising from the results of the vote In the earnings calendar, US car insurance group Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) is scheduled to deliver third quarter figures, as well as health insurance group Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) While the macroeconomic diary is a little sparse, US factory orders for September may provide a little bit of info on how the American economy is faring. Orders rose 0.7% in August and are forecast to rise 0.6% for September