Small caps surge as investors stack US election bets
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each ended up 0.3% after seeing initially strong gains fade as the trading day progressed. The Russell 2000 had another strong session, with small caps up 1.8%. Bitcoin also enjoyed a robust rally, gaining 6%.
Investors doubled down on bets that this weekend’s attempted assassination of Republican nominee Donald Trump improved the likelihood of him recapturing the presidency. Shares of companies that would supposedly stand to gain from Trump and the Republicans winning in November had their best day of the year, up 1.5%. On the other hand, shares of firms that purportedly benefit from Democrats’ electoral success had their worst day of the year, down 2.4%.
Energy stocks paced gains despite a modest drop in the price of West Texas Intermediate futures. Financials were the second best-performing S&P sector ETF, up 1.5% on the day. Goldman Sachs gained 2.7% after reporting strong trading results that outweighed plans to dial back buybacks in light of higher capital requirements.
At the other end of the spectrum, utilities were crushed, down 2.4% with a 7% drop in the sustainable energy-centric NextEra Energy.
Burberry is soooooooo 2009. As in, the stock sank 16% to its lowest level since 2009 as the company reported underwhelming earnings, suspended its dividend, and had its CEO step down.
