NEW YORK (AP) - Major stock-market indexes climbed Tuesday as investors waited for the finish of a closely fought U.S. presidential election.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 146 points at 13,259 in early afternoon trading..
"We're on pins and needles," said Phil Orlando, chief equity strategist at Federated Investors, a money management firm. Orlando, who backs Republican Mitt Romney, said he thought the gain reflected optimism that Romney could win.
Companies that investors believe would benefit under a potential Romney administration had some of the biggest gains. They included United Technologies and Boeing, which do substantial business with the Defense Department.
Four financial companies - Travelers, American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America - were among the 10 biggest gainers in the 30-stock Dow average.
Other investors say that they simply want the election behind them. That will allow Wall Street and Congress to focus on the so-called fiscal cliff, the tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.
In other trading Tuesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14 points to 1,431, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 20 points to 3,020.
Among other winners, Computer Sciences leapt 15 percent, the largest gain in the S&P 500, after its earnings blew past analysts' estimates. The stock was up $4.72 at $36.18.