US markets climb ahead of midterms, inflation data
US stocks rose for a third straight session on Tuesday as the US midterm elections dominated attention ahead of key economic data later in the week. With Republican challengers to President Joe Biden's Democratic party expected to win at least one house of Congress, market watchers are anticipating gridlock in Washington -- traditionally a benign scenario for equities. "The positive spin the market is placing on gridlock is that it will remove some political uncertainty and will lessen the prospect of new tax hikes, further regulatory pressure and additional large spending plans," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with an increase of 1.0 percent at 33,160. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 percent to 3,828, while the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 percent to 10,616. The gains came as investors looked ahead to Thursday's critical consumer price report that will likely influence the course of US monetary policy. Among individual companies, Lyft sank 22.9 percent as the ride-hailing firm reported a US$422.2 million loss even as it pointed to strong demand from customers. Analysts cited fears the company is losing market share to rival Uber. DuPont jumped 7.3 percent as the chemical maker reported better-than-expected results and announced a new US$5 billion share repurchase program. (AFP)