Nine Day Stock Market Losing Streak Underpinned by Trump's Rise

November 4th marked the ninth straight day of losses for the U.S. stock market. That is the longest streak since December 1980. Many analysts attribute that decline to Donald Trump's rise in the polls over the course of the last couple of weeks.

 

Virginia resident Peter Cosentino is a CFS financial adviser at NASA Federal Credit Union. He said politics have always been a slight concern for some of his clients in the past, but this election cycle has been exceptional.

 

"It has been a topic of conversation in just about every appointment I have had for the last six months," he said. "Most clients have at least some degree of concern."

 

According to Cosentino, the concern is bipartisan this election:

 

"It's different than 2012. That year the concerns were mainly partisan," he said. "If the client was on one side of the spectrum, they expressed concerns about the other side winning. This year, the concerns have been almost universal."

 

Peter tells his clients not to worry and that things will be OK in the long run because markets are efficient. 

 

"The most likely scenario is already priced in. And while roughly half the population will be upset with the outcome come Wednesday morning, we're going to be OK in the long run," he said.

 

Dartmouth College economics professor Eric Zitzewitz said the reason why the markets responded in such a negative way to Trump's rise last week is mainly because it was so unexpected. (Check out his full column on the subject here.)

 

"Markets react to news," he said. "In an election when an underdog does well and the markets are not prepared, then they react negatively."

 

Zitzewitz concludes that if polls show Clinton ahead, but then Trump wins on Election Day, the markets will react negatively.