Wall Street set to open higher after Biden victory: futures

Wall Street was set to open higher Monday after the election of Joe Biden as the next US president, with futures for the major New York Stock Exchange indices advancing on Sunday evening.

At around 2315 GMT, futures contracts for December on the Dow Jones appreciated by 0.5 percent, on the Nasdaq by 0.6 percent and on the S&P 500 by 0.5 percent.

Futures contracts generally provide the direction that the financial markets take when trading opens.

Wall Street stocks on Friday finished their best week in months as Biden inched closer to victory in the election against Donald Trump.

The broad-based S&P 500 closed up 7.3 percent for the week, its best since April.

The rally had been built on the assumption of Biden winning the White House and Democrats controlling the House of Representatives, while Republicans are forecast to retain control of the Senate.

The split in Washington would likely thwart major tax increases on large companies and rich individuals, as well as other sweeping policies feared by investors.

Markets appeared untroubled by Trump refusing to admit defeat and trying to sow doubt about the election results.

Trump plans to file a string of lawsuits in the coming week, according to his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who said Sunday that he had "a lot of evidence" of fraud.

The Trump campaign has already mounted legal challenges in several states, but no evidence has emerged of any widespread irregularities that would affect the results.

Biden has vowed to name a cabinet that reflects the diversity of the country, although he may have trouble gaining approval for progressive appointees if Republicans retain control of the Senate -- an outcome that will depend on two runoff races in Georgia in January.

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