Dow leaps 555 points as investors eagerly await election results

• US stocks surged on Tuesday as investors eagerly awaited the results of Tuesday's presidential election.
• A decisive election winner would remove uncertainty from the market and spur investors to buy stocks, one Wall Street strategist said.
• Stocks moved higher on broad participation from many sectors, with the industrial, information technology, consumer discretionary, and financial sectors leading the market higher.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks surged on Tuesday, extending Monday's gains, as Americans headed to the polls to vote for the next president of the United States.

The resolution of the election should remove a large overhang of uncertainty that investors have faced since the summer, as the outcome could have wide-ranging implications for the stock market.

One Wall Street Strategist said no matter what the outcome of Tuesday's election, the market will power higher as investors step off the sidelines and put cash to work.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 3,369.16, up 1.8%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 27,480.03, up 2.1% (555 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 11,160.57, up 1.9%

Read more: Iconiq Capital, which counts some of the world's most influential families as clients, broke down the investment implications of the US election. Here are the highlights of it's 23-page presentation.

The implications of Tuesday's election winner are wide-ranging. From political gridlock to fiscal stimulus and infrastructure deals worth trillions of dollars, the outcome could set the stage for further gains, according to BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager.

Fundstrat's Tom Lee said in a note to clients on Tuesday that stocks would rally no matter the outcome, because any resolution will remove uncertainty for investors. If Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, wins, Lee expects a 10% rally, while a surprise win for President Donald Trump could jolt stocks 15% to 17% higher.

And even a contested election could result in a 5% to 7% rally, Lee said, as it would raise the odds that Congress will enact a fiscal stimulus deal and that the Fed will intervene with more easing of monetary policies.

Read more: From flipping burgers at McDonald's to a self-made multimillionaire: Here's how Willie Mandrell leveraged a simple real-estate investing strategy to acquire 40 units and achieve financial freedom

Ant Financial Group's highly anticipated initial public offering was put on hold a day after Alibaba's Jack Ma met with Chinese regulators. The Ant IPO was set to be the largest debut of a public company, with a raise of $34.5 billion.

Ant's delayed IPO sent shares of Alibaba down as much as 10% in Tuesday trades. That move meant Jack Ma took a $3 billion hit to his net worth, according to data from Bloomberg.

Oil climbed by the most in nearly a month on Tuesday after OPEC+ members considered delaying an ease of oil-production cuts early next year. A slower rebound in demand for oil was among the considerations of the OPEC+ members, as air travel and consumer behavior have not bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose as much as 4.1%, to $38.32 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 3.8%, to $40.45 per barrel, at intraday highs.

Gold traded higher on Tuesday, rising as much as 0.8%, to $1,910.67 per ounce.

Read more: Stifel asked its analysts to identify stocks most likely to be positively or negatively affected by the election results. Here are the dozens of stocks to buy or avoid in each of the 3 outcomes.