Stock futures are holding on to small gains as the first polls close

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Axel Schmidt/Reuters

US stock futures are holding on to gains as voting wraps up across the east coast, exit-poll results cross, and the world waits for the final results.

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The major indexes closed higher in regular trading, adding to massive gains Monday on news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded its investigation into additional emails Hillary Clinton sent from a private server while she was secretary of state.

Just after the start of futures-market trading, at 6:02 p.m. ET, Dow futures were up 32 points, or 0.17%, while S&P 500 futures were up 4 points, or 0.2%.

A victory by Hillary Clinton is considered more positive for financial markets, at least initially, given investors' familiarity with her political career, and the likely continuity she would provide.

Donald Trump, however, is considered more unpredictable. Several strategists have forecast an initial stock-market decline by as much as 10%, although some say this may be short-lived.

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Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab, said stocks could rise to all-time highs by year-end even after an initial Trump-related pullback. That's because of the decline since early September, which signals that there's pent-up demand from investors, he told Business Insider.

Leading up to election day, activity in the options market

We'll update this post with the latest reaction in stock futures are the results cross, so refresh for updates. Also, check out Business Insider's live blog with all the latest election news and results.