“The rising uncertainty about a post-Election Day fight is already spurring increasingly aggressive bets on Wall Street for a surge in volatility in the coming weeks. Major stock indices have lost close to 10 percent since hitting Covid-era peaks at the start of September. The declines in recent weeks followed signs of softening in the economic recovery as well as fear of further deterioration without fresh economic aid from Capitol Hill” Politico reports.
“Congress appears no closer to renewing expanded jobless benefits, small business assistance or injecting fresh cash directly into the hands of millions of Americans, though House lawmakers are set to make another attempt. The failure comes as initial jobless claims continue to hover around 1 million per week and 26 million Americans remain dependent on some sort of unemployment assistance. Against that shaky backdrop, Wall Street analysts are increasingly bracing for a chaotic Election Day and a bitter battle to follow that could feature protests and even violence in the streets. The unrest could make it impossible for investors to make new market bets based on the kinds of policies that might go into effect next year, and could even exacerbate concerns about the economy sliding backward with the coronavirus pandemic still wreaking havoc on consumers.”