Stock market futures slide, bond yields hit nearly 1% amid slim runs in Georgia



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Wall Street had Georgia squarely in the lead on Tuesday night, with stock and bond futures mostly in the crosshairs as investors envisioned double competition for key Senate seats that narrowed to slim margins in the markets. first returns.

Victor Reklaitis of MarketWatch reported that analysts describe the Georgia races as “about as close as they get”, and the winners are not expected to be declared until Wednesday morning.

During the last check, counts of populous counties with democratic leanings, in particular in Dekalb, which could tilt the count of votes, loomed.

Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff followed incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue, with more than 90% of the votes counted, after enjoying a practical lead earlier, according to aggregate data by The Associated Press.

In the other second round, Democrat Raphael Warnock was also slightly behind against incumbent GOP Senator Kelly Loeffler.

The Senate races are the second round of the November general election, when neither candidate has reached the 50% threshold required to be declared the winner.

What is at stake for the markets is the prospect of a slim Democratic majority in the Senate if the candidates can overthrow the GOP incumbents.

Senate Republicans, if Loeffler or Perdue win Tuesday night, should block any new coronavirus relief legislation and jeopardize any Democratic plans for expansive spending after President-elect Joe Biden takes office, experts have said.

A Democratic sweep in Georgia, however, would give that party virtual control of that chamber because Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would vote a tie as the chamber speaker.

Futures for the S&P 500 ESH21 index,
-0.71%

ES00,
-0.71%
were down 0.7%, while those of the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMH21,
-0.33%
YM00,
-0.33%
were 0.3% lower and Nasdaq-100 NQH21 futures contracts,
-1.34%

NQ00,
-1.34%
were off 1.3% Tuesday night.

During the regular session, the Dow DJIA,
+ 0.55%,
S&P 500 SPX Index,
+ 0.71%
and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP,
+ 0.95%
ended the session solidly higher before the political confrontations.

However, some of the biggest moves came from the bond market, with the 10-year Treasury yield TMUBMUSD10Y,
0.997%
knocking on the door of 1%, at around 0.985%, as prices fell, after rates ended at 0.955%, marking its highest 3 p.m. East close since Dec. 4, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The 30-year Treasury bill TMUBMUSD30Y,
1.762%
Also rose nearly 4 basis points, or 1.744% against an afternoon close at 1.705%, also its highest rate in a month.

For the bond market, Democratic victories could add to downward pressure on Treasuries, as analysts say inflation expectations have risen in response, with Congress perhaps more inclined to adopt budget spending measures majority, which would weigh on bond prices, pushing up yields.

“It looks like a few of the biggest democratic countries haven’t been fully counted yet, so I think that could very well tip over to Democrats,” Tom di Galoma, chief trading officer, told MarketWatch. Treasury at Seaport Global Securities.

“If that happens, rates will continue to rise over the next few days. We could very well see 10-year yields close to 1.2% soon, ”he wrote.

It’s almost impossible to guess which outcome Wall Street deems best suited to push stocks even higher in 2021. Market participants last year bet that a presidential victory for Biden, associated with the Democrats’ majority in the Senate, would provide scenario for additional financial relief measures to help support economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, a blue wave did not materialize and markets nonetheless surged in the final weeks of 2020.

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