# Dow futures up nearly 400 points as stocks election week rally extends to fourth day

The ongoing tallying of election results was likely to overshadow a policy statement by the Federal Reserve when it concludes its policy meeting later Thursday.

What are major benchmarks doing?

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
+1.33%
rose 372 points, or 1.3%, to 28,107, while S&P 500 futures
ES00,
+1.75%
were up 60.85 points, or 1.8%, at 3,495.75. Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
+2.50%
jumped 297.25 points, or 2.5%, to 12,060.25.

The Dow
DJIA,
+1.33%
on Wednesday rose 367.63 points, or 1.3%, to close at 27,847.66, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+2.20%
advanced 74.28 points, or 2.2%, to end at 3,443.44. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+3.85%
surged 430.21 points, or 3.9%, to finish at 11,590.78. The gains for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq marked the biggest jumps for the day after Election Day on record.

What’s driving the market?

The bullish reaction to the results so far “may have been due to the fact that Republicans appear likely to retain a majority in the Senate, something that will make it hard for Biden to proceed with the tax increases and stricter regulations he promised,” said Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group, in a note.

Biden won Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday, putting him six votes away from the 270 needed in the electoral college for victory, while the ability of Democrats to take control of the Senate continued to fade.

Heading into the election, analysts had argued that a “blue wave” or Democratic sweep of both the White House and Congress was being priced into the market which rallied on expectations that such a result would clear the way for another large round of financial aid to support the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. However, investors appeared far from disappointed with the prospect of a divided government.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is expected to leave policy on hold when it delivers a statement on its meeting at 2 p.m. Eastern, followed by Chairman Jerome Powell’s news conference at 2: 30 p.m.

Read: Overshadowed by election, Fed aims to keep it that way

Powell and other Fed officials have previously pushed for more fiscal action to backstop the economy.

Data on U.S. weekly jobless benefit claims is due at 8:30 a.m. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecast first-time applications to 728,000 form 751,000.

Figures on third-quarter productivity and labor costs are also due at 8:30 a.m.

Which companies are in focus?

• Shares of Qualcomm Inc.
  QCOM,
  +2.80%
  jumped more than 15% in premarket activity after the chip maker’s quarterly results and outlook breezed past Wall Street estimates as it benefited from 5G product rollouts.

• Expedia Group Inc.
  EXPE,
  -0.30%
  shares were up more than 6% the travel company late Wednesday said third-quarter sales were slashed by more than half but that it managed to pare losses compared to the earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
  BABA,
  +3.55%
  were lower in premarket trade despite the Chinese e-commerce giant delivering stronger-than-expected earnings Thursday morning.

• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
  REGN,
  +5.37%
  shares were up after the drug company easily topped estimates for the third quarter and said it had shared data from its Phase 2/3 COVID-19 vaccine candidate trial with regulators.