Recent Polls May Be Giving Markets a Lift

Wall Street closed out a strong week on Friday—in fact, the strongest in three months. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 30 points to 3,477, putting it up about 4% on the week for its best performance since July, reports the AP. The Dow rose 161 points to 28,586 and the Nasdaq rose 158 points to 11,579. Investors seem happy that talks are continuing in DC about another coronavirus aid package, though the Wall Street Journal sees another reason for the uptick—growing projections of a big win for Joe Biden.

Investors are paying attention to polls that, at least for now, point toward a decisive victory for the Democrat. A clear win (by either candidate) would ease volatility that would likely follow a close or even undecided contest, per the Journal. Also, while investors had generally feared that a Biden victory would hurt stocks, that sentiment seems to have flipped in recent weeks, according to the story. "Polling has further consolidated around a Biden advantage in the presidential election ... and options markets have significantly reduced the premium they assign to that date," wrote JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists.

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