Exit Polls Cause Stock Market To Dip

The prospect of a Kerry victory, the first hints at which were exit polling posted on several prominent blogs, sent the stock market into retreat.

U.S. stocks reversed course suddenly on Tuesday and drifted lower as chatter on the Internet speculated that early exit polls had Sen. John Kerry leading the presidential election in key swing states.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 42 points, or 0.42 percent, at 10,012. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2 points, or 0.20 percent, at 1,128. And the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.69 of a point, or 0.03 percent, at 1,979.

The Dow Jones and S&P 500 had been higher for most of the session, heading for a sixth straight day of gains, but turned south sharply just after 2:30 p.m. EDT on the exit poll speculation.

I know, Blah blah blah blah. The point is, traders and big business are shaking in their boots at the prospect of returning to a higher tax bracket. Ha ha.