Investors are better off leaving politics at the polls. Here’s why

Keep calm and trade on — that’s the mantra many investors are repeating to themselves through one of the most turbulent news weeks of the year.

Keep calm and trade on — that’s the mantra many investors are repeating to themselves through one of the most turbulent news weeks of the year. Tuesday is Election Day in a tight race to determine the next president of the United States. On Thursday, the Federal Reserve will announce its next interest rate decision, the first since officials cut interest rates by half of a percentage point and since unemployment data revealed a weakening labor market. Still, investors don’t appear to be letting their jitters get to them — at least not entirely. Wall Street opened very slightly higher Tuesday as more Americans headed to the polls. The Dow was up by 0.1%, the S&P 500 was 0.3% higher and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6%. Treasury yields also rose, with the 10-year topping 4.3%. The dollar ticked down. Markets were volatile on Monday and ultimately closed lower as traders failed to find solid footing ahead of this week’s news. But that doesn’t mean investors are feeling pessimistic: Market gains year-to-date through October have been the strongest in any election year since the 1950s, when the S&P 500 was first created. “These gains are supported by an economy that remains resilient and forward earnings that reached yet another record high,” wrote Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at Truist, in a note Monday.