Ballot Time
On the eve of the closest election in 40 years, stocks turned in a mixed day,
with blue chips moving the Dow 1.5% higher while the Nasdaq edged 1.0% lower.
The S&P 500 rose a modest 0.4%.
Nasdaq volume eased 14% from Friday’s levels, as 1.56 billion shares changed
hands while NYSE volume decreased by about 8%, with 920 million shares trading.
Analysts commented that few players were likely to take large positions until
after the election when market participants have had time to sort out the news.
Some analysts even mentioned how quickly the recent worries have
vanished. Â
“The major low ingredients still seem to be missing, perhaps the most
important being sentiment. What little fear did creep into the picture a couple
of weeks ago quickly dissipated. Put/Call ratios have backed off and
institutional money managers are more bullish than they’ve been in years. And
why not? The market rallies every year between November 1 and December 31 (since
1995 at least),” said Frank Gretz, Market Analyst, Shields & Co.
“And yet, there are some potential worries out there — the global
economy is slowing, the outcome of the election could prove disappointing,
there’s a potential currency crisis cooking in the Pac-Rim again, and so on.
There’s plenty to worry about, but there is no worry, and that’s not the way
major uptrends begin,” he added.
According to preliminary numbers, the Dow gained 159.26 to 10,977.21, the
Nasdaq eased 35.09 to 3416.49, and the S&P 500 added 5.52 to 1432.21.
Top sectors included insurance
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up 1.5%, and pharmaceuticals
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On the weaker side were broker/dealers
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down 1.7%, and biotechs
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In the software group, Adobe
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before pulling back to close up 2 9/16 to 83 1/4 for the day. Volume for the
session was 5.2 million shares, which was more than triple the average.
In earnings news after the bell, Cisco Systems
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quarter earnings of 18 cents per share, topping estimates by a penny. Cisco closed Monday down 1 5/8 to 55 1/8 and was trading up to 55 11/16 following the announcement. Analysts
remained anxious to hear what the tech giant had to say in the post-earnings
conference call regarding its future outlook.
Top Dow stocks were General Motors
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and United Technologies
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Dow losers were International Paper
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down 2.0%, and AT&T
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PowerRating), down 2.2%.
Looking ahead, aside from the election, traders will be looking to Thursday’s
Producer Price Index numbers which will be released at 8:30 AM ET. Estimates
look for increases in the PPI and PPI core rate of 0.1% each.