The stock market is booming on election day

The U.S. stock market rose in trading on Tuesday as voters rushed to the polls and the nation awaited the results of a closely contested presidential election.

The S&P 500 rose about 1.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 400 points, rising about 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4%.

Gains in major technology companies are helping to boost the market. Shares of Nvidia, an artificial intelligence chipmaker, rose nearly 3% in early trading.

At market close, tech giants Meta and Amazon each saw shares rise about 2%.

Nasdaq briefly halted trading of Trump Media and Technology Group Corp, former President Donald Trump's media company. The stock price fell rapidly from $37 to $34 in 15 minutes in the afternoon. Shares ultimately closed at $33.94.

The broader market rebound follows a flurry of mostly positive economic news last week. Government data released last week showed robust economic growth over the past three months, while inflation continued to cool.

U.S. hiring fell in October, but the fallout from hurricanes and labor strikes likely led to an undercount of workers in the country, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Friday.

Ivan Feinseth, a market analyst at investment firm Tigress Financial, attributed Tuesday's returns to investors' strong anticipation of putting the U.S. election behind them.

“The nightmare of an endless election and contentious battle has consumed much of the focus and attention. It's almost over. Then it goes back to the fundamentals of the market,” Feinseth said.

Election Day gains extended a record year for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are each up more than 20% this year, while the Dow Jones is up about 11%.

This performance was due to enthusiasm for artificial intelligence as well as robust economic growth and the expectation of a rate cut, Feinseth said.

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point in September, reducing its years-long battle against inflation and providing relief to borrowers saddled with high costs.

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point at its meeting on Thursday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a gauge of market sentiment.

Investor expectations of interest rate cuts often push stocks higher, as lower interest rates pave the way for cheaper corporate loans and the potential for higher profits.

“The market is looking to the future and the Fed is now on the side of the bulls,” Feinseth said.

Over the entire term of the next administration, the market is likely to rise regardless of whether the country elects Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump, experts previously told ABC News. However, they added that each candidate's policies could favor different types of stocks while introducing unique risks.

Experts say Trump has proposed a combination of low corporate tax rates and looser regulation that would likely boost corporate profits and send the stock market higher. They added that prices would likely rise under Harris, as they have under President Joe Biden's economic leadership.