S & P 500 future earnings as Democrats advance in House races

(Reuters) – U.S. stock futures trimmed gains in volatile trading on Tuesday as Democrats made gains in races for the House of Representatives in U.S. midterm congressional elections.

In line with opinion polls, Wall Street had been expecting that President Donald Trump's Republican party would lose control of the House while retaining the Senate, creating a gridlock in Washington.

S & P 500 e-mini futures EScv1 had previously gained 0.4 percent of the initial results shown Democrats struggling in the home, but those gains were pared to 0.15 percent after Democrats picked up at least 10 Republican-held seats and Fox News projected that Democrats would take control of the House ..

"Right now, it looks like the Democrats will take the House," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. "Clearly, the future was more drunk when it looked as if the Democrats would have a much more difficult time taking the House."

During Tuesday's trading session, stock market indexes closed higher, but trading volume was thin as investors.

Following S & P 500, the S & P 500 remains down more than 5 percent from its record high, with investors worried at a decade-old bull market may be ending.

Some investors said they would expect a drop, at least in the near term, if the Democrats gain control of both the House and the Senate. In contrast, stocks may rally in the country.

Sweeping corporate tax cuts passed by the Republicans last year have supercharged earnings growth.

Other investors said the elimination of an election.

In Tuesday's trading session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose .DJI 0.68 percent to end at 25.635.01 points, while the S & P 500 .SPX gained 0.63 percent to 2,755.45.

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.64 percent to 7,375.96.