Post-Election Stock Market Reaction

On Wednesday, the stock market dropped a considerable amount following the conclusion of the election and the announcement of Barack Obama as the new President of the United States.

“A case of postelection nerves sent Wall Street plunging Wednesday as investors absorbing a stream of bad economic news wondered how a Barack Obama presidency will help the country weather a possibly severe recession. Volatility returned to the market, with the Dow Jones industrials falling nearly 500 points and all the major indexes tumbling more than 5 percent.
The market was expected to give back some gains after a six-day runup that lifted the Standard & Poor's 500 index more than 18 percent. But investors lost some of their recent confidence about the economy and began dumping stocks again; light volume helped exaggerate the price swings (Lepro & Paradis, Associated Press).”
"I think what is happening in the market is a continuation of really the last few weeks," said Subodh Kumar, global investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto. "The markets are still incorporating the slowdown in the global economy."

Regardless of the exact cause of the sudden drop in the market, one thing is for certain: all eyes are going to be on President Obama in regards to the future stability and efficacy of the markets upon his inauguration; the nation will be watching to observe how he will (“if he can” to some) react and respond to the limping economy during his presidency. This is just one of the many challenges he will face as President of the United States

Lepro, Sara & Paradis, Tim. “Stocks plunge as investors ponder Obama presidency.” Associated Press. 5 November, 2008. <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081105/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street >