Election Day is just one week away, and the outcome is set to have wide-ranging consequences for markets regardless of the who wins or which party controls which chamber of Congress. Stocks are uncharacteristically strong heading into the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5th, with all three major averages at or near all-time highs even in the face of rising Treasury yields. On Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite index notched a new record for the second time in three days.
Julian Emanuel, senior managing director leading the equity, derivatives, and quantitative strategy team at Evercore ISI, expects the vote could lead to a "'performance chase' meltup" that pushes the S & P 500 over 6,000 after the election, and close to 6,300 by yearend. Other market observers also expect a Republican sweep will be bullish for equities.