Dow climbs 340 points as Americans head into Election Day

• US stocks surged on Tuesday as tens of millions of Americans headed to the election polls to vote for the next President of the United States.
• The election has represented a sizable overhang for investors over the past few months, as the potential outcome could have wide ranging implications for the stock market.
• According to one Wall Street strategist, the swift resolution of Tuesday’s election will remove a bout of investor uncertainty that could power stocks higher into year-end. 
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks surged on Tuesday, adding to gains the prior day, as tens of millions of Americans headed to the election polls to vote for the next President of the United States.

A resolution to today’s election will remove a large overhang of uncertainty investors have faced since the summer, as the potential outcome could have wide ranging implications for the stock market.

From political gridlock, to a flurry of fiscal stimulus and infrastructure deals worths trillions of dollars, the outcome of today’s election could set the stage for further gains ahead, according to the world’s largest asset manager.

Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 3,343.71, up 1%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 27,268.17, up 1.3% (343 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 11,027.68, up 0.6%

Read more: Stifel asked its analysts to identify stocks most likely to be positively or negatively affected by the election results. Here are the dozens of stocks to buy or avoid in each of the 3 outcomes.

No matter what the outcome of Tuesday’s election, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee believes stocks will rally, according to a Tuesday note to clients. The basis behind Lee’s thinking is that the resolution of the election will remove a big uncertainty for investors.

In the scenario of a Biden win, Lee expects a 10% rally in stocks. A surprise Trump win could jolt stocks 15% to 17% higher, according to Lee.

And even a contested election could result in a 5% to 7% rally in stocks, according to Lee, as it raises the chances of a fiscal stimulus deal being passes and for the Fed to intervene with additional easing of monetary policies.

Read more: From flipping burgers at McDonald’s to a self-made multimillionaire: Here’s how Willie Mandrell leveraged a simple real-estate investing strategy to acquire 40 units and achieve financial freedom

In corporate news, the highly anticipated IPO of Ant Financial Group has been unexpectedly put on hold, a day after Alibaba’s Jack Ma met with Chinese regulators. The Ant IPO was set to be the largest debut of a public company ever, with a potential raise of $34.5 billion. 

Oil climbed the most in nearly a month on Tuesday after OPEC+ members considered delaying an ease of oil production cuts early next year. A slower rebound in demand for oil was among considerations of the OPEC+ members, as air travel and consumer behavior has yet to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 4.1%, to $38.30 per barrel. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, jumped 3.8%, to $40.45 per barrel, at intraday highs.

Gold traded higher on Tuesday, rising as much as 0.7%, to $1,908.14 per ounce.

Read more: Buy these 13 stocks that are set to crush expectations and rally after their earnings, Jefferies says — including a top pick that could surge 79%