The broader stock market soared Wednesday amid the likelihood of continued shared power between political parties as states continued to count votes from Tuesday's US elections.

The Dow Jones Industrial average soared more than 700 points (2.6%) with the S&P 500 climbing more than 3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq more than 4% after Democratic challenger Joe Biden retained a narrow lead over President Donald Trump in the headline vote.

Odds increased that Biden would unseat Trump even if it takes time for legal challenges to the razor-thin margins in several states to be settled.

But at the same time it emerged as increasingly likely that Republicans would hold on to their majority in the US Senate, putting to end ideas of a "blue wave" that would revolutionise US government.

Investors appeared to grow comfortable with the idea of a divided leadership that would likely take off the table business-hostile initiatives like large-scale increases in corporate and personal taxation, even if it places in doubt the fate of more government stimulus spending related to Covid-19.

So what is the net effect for shipping?

It is still probably too early to tell. Stocks had shown signs of preparing for a Biden win on Tuesday, as tanker shares faltered while listings in the dry bulk an container sector gained ground. This fit analysts' conventional wisdom as to how a Biden win might impact the respective sectors.

But the picture today was more muddled, with shares both gaining and losing value regardless of operating sector.

A researcher with Rystad Energy explained why fears surrounding the petroleum energy industry and secondarily the vessels serving that sector might have been largely removed by the close electoral numbers.

“Perhaps the biggest conclusion to be drawn at this stage is that there is only a small likelihood that existing oil & gas tax incentives will be removed in the US – even if Biden emerges as the winner – given the narrow margin of victory and a probable Republican majority in the US Senate," said Artem Abramov, head of shale research.

"New lease rounds in the Gulf of Mexico can be stopped on executive order by the president, so this could be where Joe Biden may still have a direct impact on the industry."

In mid-afternoon Wednesday, Biden continued to hold a 238-214 lead over Trump in electoral votes, still short of the minimum 270 required for victory.