US open: Stocks mixed ahead of presidential election

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Monday as Americans get set to head to the polls tomorrow. As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.28% at 41,933.28, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.16% to 5,738.01 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.22% firmer at 18,280.26.

The Dow opened 118.91 points lower on Monday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

This week's primary focus will likely be Tuesday's election results, with pundits branding it a "deadlocked race" between former president Donald Trump and vice president Kamala Harris. Congress will also draw an amount of investor attention, with a Republican or Democratic sweep of both the Senate and the House of Representatives likely meaning fresh spending plans or a tax overhaul would be put in place.

Later in the week, the Federal Open Markets Committee will meet for its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, with economists widely expecting to see the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate again. Comments from chairman Jerome Powell will also be firmly in focus.

In the corporate space, Super Micro Computer, Moderna, CVS Health, Qualcomm and Wynn Resorts will all report earnings before the week is out.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $399.42 1.74% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.56 1.06% 3M Co. (MMM) $128.32 0.87% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $82.62 0.52% Visa Inc. (V) $291.77 0.35% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $153.60 0.35% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.49 0.33% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $65.21 0.32% Boeing Co. (BA) $155.07 0.31% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $380.48 0.23%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.47 -3.17% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $48.06 -1.86% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $558.15 -1.66% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $292.52 -0.91% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $206.45 -0.86% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $221.12 -0.82% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $515.42 -0.76% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $293.54 -0.40% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $408.85 -0.37% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $222.09 -0.37%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.39 13.41% Mosaic Company (MOS) $29.00 7.85% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $7.46 6.60% Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $38.54 6.32% Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $30.65 5.98% Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW) $374.77 4.69% Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $126.66 4.64% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $69.66 4.59% D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $174.45 4.06% AES Corp. (AES) $15.30 4.01%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $177.66 -8.33% Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) $83.49 -4.38% Loews Corp. (L) $76.48 -3.52% Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.47 -3.17% Humana Inc. (HUM) $253.02 -2.95% Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B (BRK.B) $440.65 -2.54% Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $178.01 -2.17% Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) $63.36 -2.04% Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $255.68 -1.88% Dominion Energy Inc. (D) $57.94 -1.78%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $68.53 5.12% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $69.66 4.59% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $379.53 3.56% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $59.81 2.93% Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $71.94 2.23% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $152.93 2.12% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $101.67 1.95% Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $83.88 1.88% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.56 1.86% Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $287.13 1.79%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.47 -3.17% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $26.84 -2.93% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $243.91 -2.04% Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $255.68 -1.88% American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.35 -1.39% Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $169.11 -1.27% Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $170.53 -1.23% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $43.03 -1.21% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $181.37 -1.10% Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $98.04 -0.84%