Election uncertainty not helping

NEW YORK – With just over a week to go before America heads to the polls, all the major stock indexes are in negative range for the year, and pricey oil may not be entirely to blame.

A repeat of the 2000 recount would almost certainly send stocks tumbling, and some analysts say that possibility is already being factored into share prices. The thought that terrorists might try to disrupt the electoral process has also crossed traders’ minds.

And, as is the case in any tight race, some professional investors are making sector bets in an attempt to game the outcome. If Sen. John Kerry manages to unseat President Bush, the thinking goes, businesses in heavily regulated industries are likely to face a tougher climate.

But with lawyers from both parties descending on swing states in anticipation of a contested result on Tuesday, Nov. 2, some market watchers think litigation is inevitable. In an already difficult market pressured by decelerating earnings, rising interest rates, lofty energy prices and terror fears, the prospect of a protracted struggle for the White House has given investors plenty of reason to avoid risk.