By Liz Moyer

-- U.S. stocks rose as American voters headed to the polls in the midterm elections that will decide the balance of power in Congress heading into the second half of President Joe Biden’s term.

At 10:25 ET (15:25 GMT), the was up 290 points or 0.9%, while the rose 0.5% and the was up 0.4%.

With a Democrat in the White House, Congress could tip in favor of Republicans in at least one chamber if not two. That creates the conditions for political gridlock, and investors may prefer that if it prevents big policy changes from moving forward.

A Republican majority in both chambers could put a check on spending and regulatory priorities by the Biden administration. It could also block the progress of judicial confirmations in the Senate.

This week’s events include the reading for October, a key inflation reading as the Federal Reserve tries to steer the economy to a soft landing, which is to cool inflation without tipping into a recession.

The to continue raising interest rates to tame inflation, but more analysts are expecting its pace could begin to slow at the December meeting, when the forecasts are calling for a half-percentage point increase after four of a 0.75 percentage point each.

Video game maker Software Inc (NASDAQ:) shares dropped 11% after it cut its outlook for annual sales. Shares of ride-hailing app LYFT Inc (NASDAQ:) dropped 20% after ridership numbers were lower than expected, while higher prices helped drive revenue.

Oil dipped. was down 0.8%, to $91.02 a barrel, while crude was down 0.5% at around $97.44 a barrel. rose 1.5%, to $1706.