With the U.S. election now less than two weeks away, markets are squarely focused on the outcome and implications for the economy, interest rates and equities. Polls currently point to a possible “blue wave,” with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, wrote Lara Rhame, chief U.S. economist and managing director at FS Investments. This outcome could mean major policy changes and therefore implies greater uncertainty. While polling suggests this scenario has become increasingly likely, much uncertainty remains around both the outcomes and the market impacts.
Current polls suggest Democratic challenger Joe Biden has a roughly 9-percentage point lead nationally over Republican President Donald Trump, with a lead in many major battleground states, according to Real Clear Politics. The pandemic has emerged as the single overriding issue of the election, driving much of the polling, even as the economy has staged an extraordinary bounce in the third
