US stocks rise as Republicans keep Senate, Democrats win House

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, climbing to session highs as President Trump participated in a press conference discussing midterm election results. Stocks were higher before Trump addressed reporters as investors put the uncertainty of midterms behind them.

The Democrats took control of the House and the Republicans maintained control of the Senate, a situation that, according to history, is good for U.S. stocks.

According to Dow Jones Market Data, analyzing markets and election data going back to 1970, this scenario is the best case for U.S. stocks one year after an election, with the broad-based S&P 500 index up 19.9 percent, on average one year later.

Some investors were concerned the Democrats would sweep the Republicans in tight races, in a so-called "blue wave," yet such a landslide did not occur. The Democrats, particularly those seen as potential presidential contenders in 2020, saw victory. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts won their races. FOX Business has been covering the national and local economic and business issues impacting voters.

On Wednesday, as investors digest the race results, many will also turn their attention to the Federal Reserve, which begins its two-day November meeting. While no change in interest rates is expected, policymakers are widely expected to hike rates in December

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 38386.09 +146.43 +0.38%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 15983.084278 +55.18 +0.35%
SP500 S&P 500 5116.17 +16.21 +0.32%

U.S. equities climbed Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average it gained 173.31 points, the S&P 500 was up 17.14 points and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 47.11.

Fox Business'  Suzanne O'Halloran contributed to this article.