1) Even with the election stagnated, waiting on the counting of votes to find the winner, the markets were already climbing despite the final results could be days away. The Dow Jones industrial average whipsawed overnight, despite the uncertainty which usually depresses the markets. Nevertheless, the Dow climbed to a peak of over 700 points, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq also surging upward. The state of the Senate is also in doubt with neither side having a solid majority, another source of uncertainty. Voter turnout is expected to be the highest in more than a century. Experts expect volatile markets for the coming days, and maybe weeks until the election results are finalized. While bonds have dropped in their yield as expected, oil continues to gain in price. Even the foreign markets are showing an upward trend.

2) China’s new therapy for Alzheimer’s begins a much-anticipated U.S. study, the latest effort in the multibillion-dollar search for an effective treatment for the incurable disease. The drug made by Shanghai Green Valley Pharmaceutical Co. plans a $600 million dollar global Phase III trial. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its approval in April to study whether the drug can produce lasting cognitive improvement among patients in the mild and moderate stage of the debilitating neurodegenerative disorder. The trial will have 2,046 people across China, the U.S. and Europe, the first 600 expected to start in the next six months. The first patients will begin taking the drug in four weeks.

3) Nearly 140 million votes have been cast in the 2020 elections, the most ever in a US presidential election, exceeding 2016’s record of 137.1 million. About 100 million people have voted ahead of Election Day, or about 73.4% of the total votes cast nationwide in 2016. The increased number of early votes is a result of heightened public-health concerns of coronavirus pandemic with in-person voting on Election Day. Several states have taken measures to expand early voting and access to mail-in ballots.

4) Stock market closings for – 4 NOV 20:

Dow 27,847.66 up by 367.63
Nasdaq 11,590.78 up by 430.21
S&P 500 3,443.44 up by 74.28

10 Year Yield: down at 0.77%

Oil: up at $39.11

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