by Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks extended their post-election rally on Thursday as investors bet on a win for Democrat Joe Biden.
Leading up to the election earlier this week, value stocks dominated. But the prospect of a new occupant in the White House has put the focus back on fast-growing tech stocks.
Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite notched triple-digit gains despite the lack of a clear election outcome.
With what seems certain to be a new Congress split between the parties -- hence, gridlock -- big spending packages are less likely, as is bold new regulation.
The dollar retreated as gold prices surged 3% to more than $1,950.
In a grim new reading, new U.S. coronavirus cases topped 100,000 as the pandemic continues to spread. Friday features the jobs report, a barometer of the economic recovery. The Federal Reserve left short-term rates alone at 0.25% this week, and now all eyes are on its December rate meeting.
Here are three things that might affect the markets tomorrow.
1. As Covid-19 cases spike, investors look to the jobs report
The combination of a reopening economy and an increase in Covid cases will affect the October jobs report, which comes out at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT).
Payrolls are expected to show a gain of 600,000, which would be lower than September’s 661,000. The unemployment rate is expected to tick down to 7.7% from 7.9%.
2. Earnings from CVS Health and Marriott
While retail sales suffered in the second quarter for CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS), profit from insurance made up the difference. Investors will be watching to see what the drug store and insurance giant says on Friday. Analysts tracked by Investing.com expect earnings per share of $1.33 on revenue of $66 billion.
Hotel giant Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR), which like the rest of the leisure industry has been reeling from the effects of Covid-19 shutdowns, is expected to report a per-share loss of 8 cents on revenue of $2.2 billion. Investors will be listening to what the company says about the outlook.
3. Election vote counting tallies and legal fights
Several states are still counting ballots in the U.S. presidential election, and results could continue to trickle out Friday and into the weekend. Americans have been glued to their televisions watching the ongoing drama, which includes multiple lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign to stop vote counting and raise questions about the process.
While stocks haven’t been bothered by the lack of a clear outcome, there’s always the chance that a dragged out process could put pressure on markets. The dollar fell on Thursday as the price of gold spiked. Oil was down more than 1%.