Stock market today: Wall Street rallies on Election Day as economy remains solid

Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after stocks on Wall Street rallied as Americans cast votes in a pivotal national election.

The results of Tuesday’s presidential election may not be known for days or weeks as officials count all the votes, and that uncertainty could upset markets worldwide.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.7% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6%.

Investors are also awaiting the outcome of a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates this week. The widespread expectation is for the U.S. central bank to cut its main interest rate for a second straight time.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 0.7% to 38,725.95 and the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.2% higher to 2,582.88.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7% to 8,190.00.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 1.1% to 20,772.03, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% higher, to 3,388.94.

Chinese markets have been among the most active in the region this week as leaders hold a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's legislature.

The gathering is expected to deliver more moves to help spur faster economic growth and resolve mounting levels of local government debt. On Tuesday, upbeat comments by Premier Li Qiang about the potential for both fiscal and monetary policies helped lift share benchmarks in Hong Kong and Shanghai by more than 2%. Li also expressed confidence that China will attain its growth target of about 5% this year.

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks advanced as voters headed to the polls and fresh data showed the economy remains healthy.

The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to 5,782.76 and the Dow industrials climbed 1% to 42,221.88. The Nasdaq composite gained 1.4% to 18,439.17.

A report showing growth accelerated last month for retailers, transportation companies and other businesses in the U.S. services industries. That was despite economists’ expectations for a slowdown, and the

The Institute for Supply Management reported growth for retailers, transport companies and other U.S. services businesses accelerated last month to its fastest pace in more than two years. That added to hope the U.S. economy will remain solid and avoid a recession following the worst inflation in generations.

Markets worldwide are fixated on what the election will mean for U.S. economic, monetary and trade policy, as well as geopolitics. A split in Congress between political parties would complicate policymaking, and a change to a White House headed by former President Donald Trump could bring major changes to trade and other policies.

The S&P 500 has risen nearly 70% since the 2020 president election brought President Joe Biden into office. 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 bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury initially rallied following Tuesday morning’s strong report on U.S services businesses but pared the gain later in the day. It slipped to 4.28% from 4.29% late Monday.

In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 23 cents to $71.76 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 40 cents to $75.13 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 152.97 Japanese yen from 151.62 yen late Tuesday.

The euro slipped to $1.0839 from $1.0931.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed.