Stock market surges on Election Day

(NEW YORK CITY) -- The U.S. stock market climbed higher in trading on Tuesday, as voters rushed to the polls and the nation awaited the results of a closely contested presidential election.

The S&P 500 ticked upward about 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 400 points, jumping about 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4%.

Gains at large tech firms are helping to boost the market. Shares of Nvidia, an artificial intelligence chipmaker, climbed nearly 3% in early trading.

At market close, tech giants Meta and Amazon had each seen shares rise about 2%.

The Nasdaq briefly halted trading of Trump Media and Technology Group Corp, the media company owned by former President Donald Trump. The stock price fell rapidly over a 15-minute period in the afternoon, dropping from $37 to $34. Shares ultimately closed at $33.94.

The overall market upswing follows a flurry of largely positive economic news over the past week. Government data released last week showed robust economic growth over a recent three-month period, alongside a continued cooldown of inflation.

U.S. hiring slowed in October, but fallout from hurricanes and labor strikes likely caused an undercount of the nation's workers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on Friday showed.

Ivan Feinseth, a market analyst at investment firm Tigress Financial, attributed the returns on Tuesday to eager anticipation among investors to move past the U.S. election.

"The nightmare of an endless election and a contentious battle has consumed a lot of the focus and attention. It's almost over. Then it goes back to the fundamentals of the market," Feinseth said.

The gains on Election Day extended a banner year for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have each climbed more than 20% this year while the Dow Jones is up about 11%.

The performance has owed to enthusiasm about artificial intelligence as well as resilient economic growth and expectations that interest rates would ease, Feinseth said.

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a half of a percentage point in September, dialing back its yearslong fight against inflation and delivering relief for borrowers saddled with high costs.

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point when it meets on Thursday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

An expectation of interest rate cuts among investors often sends stocks higher, since lower rates pave the way for cheaper corporate borrowing and the potential for higher profits.

"The market looks toward the future, and the Fed is now on the side of the bulls," Feinseth said.

Over the full span of the next administration, the market will likely move higher whether the nation elects Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump, experts previously told ABC News. However, each candidate's policies could favor different types of stocks while posing unique risks, they added.

Trump has proposed a combination of low corporate tax rates and loose regulation that would likely bolster corporate profits and propel the stock market higher, experts said. Prices would likely increase under Harris, as they have under the economic stewardship of President Joe Biden, they added.

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What we know about the shooter

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man identified as the shooter in the apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump was a 20-year-old from a Pittsburgh suburb not far from the campaign rally where one attendee was killed.

Investigators were working Sunday to gather more information about Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who they say opened fire at the rally before being killed by Secret Service days before Trump was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time.

An FBI official said late Saturday that investigators had not yet determined a motive. Two spectators were critically injured, authorities said.

Relatives of Crooks didn’t immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN late Saturday that he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but wouldn’t speak about his son until after he talked to law enforcement.

A blockade had been set up Sunday preventing traffic near Crooks’ house, which is in an enclave of modest brick houses nestled in the hills of blue-collar Pittsburgh.

Crooks’ political leanings were not immediately clear. Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was sworn in to office.

Public Pennsylvania court records show no past criminal cases against Crooks.

The FBI released his identity early Sunday morning, hours after the shooting. Authorities told reporters that Crooks was not carrying identification so they were using DNA and other methods to confirm his identity.

Law enforcement recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.

An AP analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from the scene of the Trump rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, shows the shooter was able to get close to the stage where the former president was speaking.

A video posted to social media and geolocated by the AP shows the body of a person wearing gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a building at AGR International Inc., a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump’s rally was held.

The roof where the person lay was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 meters is a distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M-16 rifle.

Investigators believe the weapon was bought by the father at least six months ago, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

The officials said federal agents were still working to understand when and how Thomas Crooks obtained the gun. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity

Prayers for Trump also pour in from political rivals

Prayers for the former president are also coming from his political opponents.

“I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe. Political violence has no place in our country,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer in a statement.

“We should all condemn what happened today and I am hoping for the health of the former president and everyone else at the rally,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy posted on the social platform X.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a post on X that his “thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump” and expressed thanks “for the decisive law enforcement response.”

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