(Reuters) –
Investors are expecting Republican gains in U.S. midterm elections, a result that could ease worries about Democratic spending and regulation but set up a bruising fight over raising the U.S. debt ceiling next year.
The S&P 500 rose 0.56% on Tuesday during voting that will determine control of the U.S. Congress, with investors betting on a political stalemate that could prevent major policy changes.
Republicans are favored to win control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate, polls and betting markets show, though it may be hours before all vote tallies are known. With Democrat Joe Biden in the White House, that result would lead to a split government, an outcome that has been accompanied by positive long-term stock market performance in the past.
