09:48 AM EST, 11/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Investors will be keeping an eye on election results from key swing states in the US with the market likely to wobble through uncertainty until a clear result is known, according to analysts.

The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500, up 20% so far this year, was marginally higher early Tuesday, along with slim gains for the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the heavyweight Dow Jones Industrial Average. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, has a scant lead over Donald Trump, former president and the Republican candidate for the top job, according to the RealClearPolitics national poll average.

"The US presidential election likely will be decided by a few thousand voters across a handful of swing states," Wells Fargo Investment Institute said in a note.

Swing states include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. RBC Capital Markets added Iowa to their watch-list of states, after a surprise opinion poll showed Harris ahead of Trump there.

Tariff-exposed consumer equities and renewables likely will outperform in the short term if Harris wins the presidency, while quality cyclicals could benefit from a Trump victory, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note to clients on Monday.

It could take several days before the outcome of the vote is known, according to analysts. Scenarios for results include divisions between the parties in charge of the White House and the chambers of Congress, or single-party control of all segments of the federal government.

"Financial market volatility can accompany delays after Election Day but tends to fade as the economy typically quickly reasserts its role as the main driver of expected earnings," Douglas Beath, global investment strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said in a note. "A delayed election outcome is certainly possible, but we do not see delayed results having a lasting, negative effect on equity prices beyond a short bout of volatility."