Stocks Opened Higher ahead of Georgia Runoff Elections

Stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday as investors awaited results from the Georgia Senate runoff elections and eyed worsening COVID-19 trends in the U.S. and abroad. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 111.30 points, or 0.37%, to 30,335.19. The S&P 500 was up 12.68 points, or 0.34%, to 3,713.33. The Nasdaq Composite gained 35.54 points, or 0.28%, to 12,733.99.

Oil futures rose Tuesday after Iran seized a South Korean ship and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies extended talks over whether to further ease production cuts. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery rose 79 cents, or 1.7%, to $48.41 a barrel. March Brent crude gained 84 cents, or 1.6%, to $51.93 a barrel.

Ahead of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoff elections on Tuesday that will determine the balance of power in Washington, betting markets and polls are signaling some confidence in the Democratic Party’s prospects, which could result in some repeal of corporate tax reductions and other measures that could weigh on stocks, market strategists say.

Concerns around COVID-19 picked back up as cases resurged after a holiday lull. The average daily new cases reported across the country over the past seven days totaled more than 210,000, according to data from the New York Times, bringing the total number of infections in the U.S. to nearly 21 million.

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