Stocks surge as FBI decision lifts cloud over Clinton's campaign
Reuters
Published Monday, Nov. 07, 2016 11:28AM EST
Last updated Monday, Nov. 07, 2016 12:29PM EST
Global equity markets surged on Monday, as did the U.S. dollar, putting them on track for their biggest gains in weeks after the FBI stood by its view that no criminal charges were warranted against Hillary Clinton.
The news lifted a cloud over the Democrat’s presidential campaign and gave it new momentum just two days before the U.S. election, and sent the benchmark S&P 500 index up more than 1 per cent. The index was on pace to snap a nine-day losing skid, its longest in more than 35 years, and to post its best daily performance in over four months.
European stocks were up 1.4 per cent and many of the safe-haven assets that had performed so strongly last week when polls showed Republican candidate Donald Trump closing the gap reversed course as gold and bonds fell.
Investors had been unnerved in recent days by signs of a tightening presidential race, preferring what is seen as a known quantity in Ms. Clinton, over the political wild card, Mr. Trump.
“It is certainly a relief rally for Hillary Clinton - investors worldwide were concerned about the uncertainty surrounding Trump,†said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.
“The other, more subtle reason, is if they are ending this email controversy you are not going to have a cloud hanging over her administration, creating roadblocks to getting things done.â€
Canada’s main stock index also rose on Monday, helped by energy stocks and banks as oil prices gained.
Nine of the index’s 10 main groups were in positive territory, with the materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, falling 2.1 per cent.
Gold miners weighed heavily as bullion retreated on the news about Ms. Clinton.
Ms. Clinton is viewed by markets as a status quo candidate with more predictable policies than her Republican rival a political novice.
At 11:25 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 127.87 points, or 0.88 per cent, at 14,637.12. Advancers were outnumbering decliners by more than 3-to-1.
The heavyweight financials group gained 1.3 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank rose 1.1 per cent to $60.35 and Bank of Nova Scotia advanced 1.3 per cent to C$71.91.
Other influential gainers on the index included Suncor Energy Inc., which rose 1.8 per cent to $39.84, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., which advanced 1 per cent to $40.53. The energy group climbed 1.4 per cent.
Oil rose more than 1 per cent, boosted by a commitment from OPEC to stick to a deal to cut output, although prices remained more than $7 below last month’s high due to persistent doubts over the feasibility of the group’s plan.
In New York, The Dow Jones industrial average rose 278.59 points, or 1.56 per cent, to 18,166.87, the S&P 500 gained 36.44 points, or 1.75 per cent, to 2,121.62 and the Nasdaq Composite added 102.25 points, or 2.03 pe rcent, to 5,148.62.
Wall Street closed lower for nine days in a row through Friday, their longest losing streak in more than 35 years and one that gained momentum after the FBI said on Oct. 28 that it was reviewing some newly found emails Ms. Clinton sent using a private server during her tenure as secretary of state.
The FBI said on Sunday that it would not recommend criminal charges against Ms. Clinton, standing by its July finding that she was not guilty of criminal wrongdoing.
At least three polls on Monday showed Ms. Clinton was in the lead over Mr. Trump.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll showed 47 per cent of 1,763 likely U.S. voters backing Ms. Clinton and 43 per cent supporting Mr. Trump. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
“Investors are reacting this morning to moving the email controversy to the sidelines, but still looking at a race that is too close to call, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Equity Capital Markets in New York.
“It’s a market that is going to sc**** back some losses we’ve seen over the last nine days and shift into stall mode at some point in time.â€
The CBOE Volatility index, dubbed Wall Street’s “fear gaugeâ€, was down 14.6 per cent, on pace for its biggest one-day fall since Sept. 21.
All of the 11 major S&P 500 indexes were higher, with the technology index leading the pack with a 1.6-per-cent rise. The defensive utilities sector brought up the rear with a 0.26-per-cent gain.
MSCI’s all-country world index rose 1.2 per cent and was on pace for its best day since June 30. The index had closed at a four-month low on Friday.
Europe’s index of leading 300 shares rose 1.4 per cent , the strongest rally in seven weeks, with a 2.6-per-cent rise in financials leading the way.
One of the biggest winners was the Mexican peso, which has been a market proxy for sentiment over the U.S. election and has performed in inverse correlation with Trump’s perceived chances of winning the White House. The Republican candidate’s proposed policies are considered deeply negative for the country. It rose more than 2 percent to a 1-1/2 week high of 18.7172 per dollar.
The dollar jumped 0.79 per cent against a basket of currencies after a 1.3-per-cent drop last week.
Gold, which also rose every day last week to a one-month high above $1,300 an ounce, fell 1.7 per cent, its biggest drop since Oct. 4, to $1,281.53.
Bond prices retreated as risk appetite surged across the board. Benchmark 10-year note yields were down 10/32 in price to yield 1.8172 per cent, up from Friday’s 1.783 per cent.
Reuters
Published Monday, Nov. 07, 2016 11:28AM EST
Last updated Monday, Nov. 07, 2016 12:29PM EST
Global equity markets surged on Monday, as did the U.S. dollar, putting them on track for their biggest gains in weeks after the FBI stood by its view that no criminal charges were warranted against Hillary Clinton.
The news lifted a cloud over the Democrat’s presidential campaign and gave it new momentum just two days before the U.S. election, and sent the benchmark S&P 500 index up more than 1 per cent. The index was on pace to snap a nine-day losing skid, its longest in more than 35 years, and to post its best daily performance in over four months.
European stocks were up 1.4 per cent and many of the safe-haven assets that had performed so strongly last week when polls showed Republican candidate Donald Trump closing the gap reversed course as gold and bonds fell.
Investors had been unnerved in recent days by signs of a tightening presidential race, preferring what is seen as a known quantity in Ms. Clinton, over the political wild card, Mr. Trump.
“It is certainly a relief rally for Hillary Clinton - investors worldwide were concerned about the uncertainty surrounding Trump,†said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.
“The other, more subtle reason, is if they are ending this email controversy you are not going to have a cloud hanging over her administration, creating roadblocks to getting things done.â€
Canada’s main stock index also rose on Monday, helped by energy stocks and banks as oil prices gained.
Nine of the index’s 10 main groups were in positive territory, with the materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, falling 2.1 per cent.
Gold miners weighed heavily as bullion retreated on the news about Ms. Clinton.
Ms. Clinton is viewed by markets as a status quo candidate with more predictable policies than her Republican rival a political novice.
At 11:25 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 127.87 points, or 0.88 per cent, at 14,637.12. Advancers were outnumbering decliners by more than 3-to-1.
The heavyweight financials group gained 1.3 percent. Toronto-Dominion Bank rose 1.1 per cent to $60.35 and Bank of Nova Scotia advanced 1.3 per cent to C$71.91.
Other influential gainers on the index included Suncor Energy Inc., which rose 1.8 per cent to $39.84, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., which advanced 1 per cent to $40.53. The energy group climbed 1.4 per cent.
Oil rose more than 1 per cent, boosted by a commitment from OPEC to stick to a deal to cut output, although prices remained more than $7 below last month’s high due to persistent doubts over the feasibility of the group’s plan.
In New York, The Dow Jones industrial average rose 278.59 points, or 1.56 per cent, to 18,166.87, the S&P 500 gained 36.44 points, or 1.75 per cent, to 2,121.62 and the Nasdaq Composite added 102.25 points, or 2.03 pe rcent, to 5,148.62.
Wall Street closed lower for nine days in a row through Friday, their longest losing streak in more than 35 years and one that gained momentum after the FBI said on Oct. 28 that it was reviewing some newly found emails Ms. Clinton sent using a private server during her tenure as secretary of state.
The FBI said on Sunday that it would not recommend criminal charges against Ms. Clinton, standing by its July finding that she was not guilty of criminal wrongdoing.
At least three polls on Monday showed Ms. Clinton was in the lead over Mr. Trump.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll showed 47 per cent of 1,763 likely U.S. voters backing Ms. Clinton and 43 per cent supporting Mr. Trump. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
“Investors are reacting this morning to moving the email controversy to the sidelines, but still looking at a race that is too close to call, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Equity Capital Markets in New York.
“It’s a market that is going to sc**** back some losses we’ve seen over the last nine days and shift into stall mode at some point in time.â€
The CBOE Volatility index, dubbed Wall Street’s “fear gaugeâ€, was down 14.6 per cent, on pace for its biggest one-day fall since Sept. 21.
All of the 11 major S&P 500 indexes were higher, with the technology index leading the pack with a 1.6-per-cent rise. The defensive utilities sector brought up the rear with a 0.26-per-cent gain.
MSCI’s all-country world index rose 1.2 per cent and was on pace for its best day since June 30. The index had closed at a four-month low on Friday.
Europe’s index of leading 300 shares rose 1.4 per cent , the strongest rally in seven weeks, with a 2.6-per-cent rise in financials leading the way.
One of the biggest winners was the Mexican peso, which has been a market proxy for sentiment over the U.S. election and has performed in inverse correlation with Trump’s perceived chances of winning the White House. The Republican candidate’s proposed policies are considered deeply negative for the country. It rose more than 2 percent to a 1-1/2 week high of 18.7172 per dollar.
The dollar jumped 0.79 per cent against a basket of currencies after a 1.3-per-cent drop last week.
Gold, which also rose every day last week to a one-month high above $1,300 an ounce, fell 1.7 per cent, its biggest drop since Oct. 4, to $1,281.53.
Bond prices retreated as risk appetite surged across the board. Benchmark 10-year note yields were down 10/32 in price to yield 1.8172 per cent, up from Friday’s 1.783 per cent.
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