Markets Predicted Obama Victory
November 5, 2008 by Tisa Silver
Filed under Finance
Throughout the election process I have heard several reporters say that the stock market favored Senator Barack Obama for President.
Why so? Well, it’s pretty simple. It had nothing to do with his experience, qualification or policy proposals. President-elect Obama earned the market’s favor because when markets are down in the few months leading up to an election, a change in party typically comes to the White House.
I found this quite interesting since I googled “stock market obama” and most of what I saw blamed him for the market’s demise. Here’s just a sample of the headlines: Is Obama Depressing the Market?…Is Obama Dragging Down Stock Prices?…President Obama and the Coming Stock Market Crash.
At a time like this, any bit of certainty is comforting to the markets. I am glad to have the election over and done with. Now, we can get down to business.
As the rhetoric begins to subside this should remind us all that the election was not the end, it is just the beginning.
It is interesting to see how the stock market moves, and what investors choose to focus on. On Election Day, the market rallied, likely in anticipation of Obama. Yesterday, though, investors focused on company earnings and the market dropped. I will be watching to see where the market goes next. Although it is likely to be generally up — as you say — because the market hates uncertainty, and there’s a little more certainty in the world right now.