STOCKS | Chip Rally Lifts S&P 500 as Analysts See Gains After U.S. Midterms

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 7,568.92, ending a three-session decline as chip stocks rebounded after several days of steep losses; the Dow fell 0.4% to 51,786.72, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8% to 25,372.01, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7% to 28,180.26, the Russell 2000 added 0.2% to 2,812.447, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index advanced 2.6% to 10,600.396. According to Sina Finance, as U.S. midterm voting was underway, Polymarket prices put Democrats’ chances of taking the House at about 95% and the Senate at about 77%; the earliest U.S. polling stations were set to close at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Joe Gilbert, a portfolio manager at Integrity Asset Management, said markets were preparing for a post-election relief rally, while recent market rotations showed investors responding to potential political shifts. Morgan Stanley data showed that since 1982, U.S. large-cap stocks gained an average of about 15% in the six months after midterm elections on a market-cap-weighted basis and 16% on an equal-weighted basis. Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report, said past performance did not guarantee future results, but the S&P 500 had risen in the year after every midterm election since 1950. UBS Securities said favorable seasonality and low hedge-fund positioning could support a post-election rally, and that U.S. stocks could recover before year-end. Apple fell 1.9% after giving a mixed earnings outlook, while Palantir Technologies dropped 1.7% after its quarterly outlook indicated that revenue growth could slow.