Stocks Opened Higher after Midterm Election Results

U.S. stocks opened solidly higher on Wednesday, as the results of the US midterm elections panned out as anticipated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately climbed 152.27 points, or 0.59%, to 25,787.28. The S&P 500 advanced 23.36 points, or 0.85%, to 2,778.81. The Nasdaq Composite rose 73.46 points, or 1.00%, to 7,449.43.

Oil prices rose Wednesday, as traders looked ahead to meetings between OPEC and its allies over the weekend that could result in supply cuts. West Texas Intermediate crude for December rose 68 cents, or 1.1%, to $62.89 a barrel. January Brent crude rose $1.03, or 1.4%, to $73.16 a barrel.

The widely-expected outcome of Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, and Republicans retaining control of the Senate came to fruition on Tuesday evening. This is the first time in 10 years that the Democrats will be in charge of the House.