U.S. stock futures rose sharply early Tuesday as investors hoped a clear winner would emerge from the U.S. presidential election and a delayed, or contested, result would be avoided.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials vaulted 397 points, or 1.5%, to 27,193.
Futures for the S&P 500 picked up 39 points, or 1.2%, at 3,339.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite climbed 65.75 points, or 0.6%, to 11,129.
Heading into Tuesday's vote, former Vice President Joe Biden held a lead in national polling over President Donald Trump. The former vice president earned 52% of support from registered voters compared to 42% for the president, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll from Sunday. In swing states, where the election will be decided, polling averages are tighter than the national polls.
About 60 million voters sent their ballots in the mail due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the U.S. Elections Project. This influx of mail-in voting has raised concern over the potential for a delayed election result.
Investors are also eyeing the key Senate elections which will determine if the so-called Blue Wave will take over Congress. Major policy shifts, including further fiscal stimulus, depend on which party has majority control.
Wall Street was coming off a solid session in which the major averages clawed back some of their sharp losses from the previous week.
Stocks also got a boost after manufacturing activity in October jumped to its highest level in more than two years, pointing to a resilient economy in the face of the coronavirus. The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose to 59.3, a reading that indicates the percentage of companies reporting that activity expanded during the month.
In addition to the presidential election, the U.S. is also facing a surge in Covid-19 cases. Coronavirus cases in the U.S. continued to rise over the weekend, with more than 81,400 new infections recorded on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins data. That brings the seven-day average of new cases past 81,000 for the first time ever, according to an analysis of Johns Hopkins data.
After the bell Monday, Royal Caribbean cancelled all of its sailing through the end of the year. The shares fell slightly in after hours.
Overseas, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index jumped 2%. Japanese markets were closed for holiday.
Oil prices popped $1.21 to $38.02 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $8.70 to $1,901.20.