NEW YORK: The wait is almost over. After a two-month rally in the stock market, some investors are about to see if they get what they wished for: more Republicans in Congress and lots of cheap money.
The US stock market has priced in the Republicans gaining ground in Tuesday’s midterm elections, an outcome widely seen as more business-friendly, as well as the Federal Reserve pumping billions into the economy through Treasury debt purchases. The Fed’s statement on Wednesday afternoon at the end of its two-day policy meeting is widely anticipated for details of the central bank’s economic stimulus plan.
Jobs will be a touchstone, with the high US unemployment rate figuring into the campaign rhetoric of Democrats and Republicans alike in the midterm elections.