The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9,625.28 today, up more than 300 points. The 305.45 gain (3.28%) was the largest gain on a Presidential Election Day since the 1.2% gain recorded when President Ronald Reagan defeated Walter Mondale in 1984. Some economists felt that the gain was a result of Wall Street’s relief that the election was finally coming to an end. Others felt the stock buy was due to the sentiment that a year-end stock market rally was on the horizon. With the Dow down close to 30% for the year, some investors anticipate that the 10-month sell-off is finally over and that now is the right time to jump back into the market before they miss out on the rally.
The next few months will be interesting. We’ll have a new President tomorrow, we still have a few more companies releasing quarterly earnings over the next week, and we’ll get a better idea of how consumer spending trends during the 2008 holiday season as the month of November closes.
