Stocks opened sharply higher after the midterm election went as largely anticipated, with each party now controlling a part of Congress. Stocks may be rallying not so much because of the midterm outcome, but due to fact that they are now out of the way and investors can turn their focus to other matters. The market’s move is broad based, with each of the major averages higher by at least 1%, extending the rally that began last week.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the FOMC began its 2-day meeting today, though no rate action is expected from the Fed tomorrow. A report on consumer credit growth in September is due out at 3 pm ET.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Michael Kors (KORS) have dropped 14% despite the fashion house reporting better than expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter, as the company also gave lower than expected guidance for the next three month period. Comparable store sales decreased 2.1%, which was in line with expectations according to Chairman and CEO John Idol.
Etsy (ETSY) is up over 26% near noon after the company reported Q3 results that RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney said showed "strong and improving fundamentals."
Twilio (TWLO) rose 33% following last night's Q3 results. Piper Jaffray analyst Alex Zukin said the company reported "yet another very strong quarter highlighted by broad-based strength," which he noted led to accelerating revenue growth.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was New Relic (NEWR), which gained 14% and saw First Analysis upgrade the stock to Strong Buy following "solid" Q3 results. Also higher after reporting quarterly results were SendGrid (SEND) and Office Depot (ODP), which gained a respective 33% and 21%.
Among the notable losers was MiMedx (MDXG), which slid 34% after announcing that its stock is being delisted from the Nasdaq exchange. Also lower were Infinera (INFN) and Zillow (ZG), which fell 31% and 23%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 335.23, or 1.31%, to 25,970.24, the Nasdaq was up 160.82, or 2.18%, to 7,536.79, and the S&P 500 was up 42.63, or 1.55%, to 2,798.08.
