Benchmarks added modest gains on Monday as investors were
hesitant to take any position ahead of the U.S. presidential
elections. Thin trading action led to the Street registering one
of its lightest trading days of the year. Meanwhile, the ISM
manufacturing index fell during the month of October. Materials
and energy sectors were the major gainer among the S&P 500
industry groups.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.2% to close the day
at 13,112.44. The Standard & Poor 500 (S&P 500) gained
0.2% to finish yesterday's trading session at 1,417.26. The
tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.6% to end at
2,999.66. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) surged 4.7%
to settle at 18.42. Consolidated volumes on the New York Stock
Exchange, American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq were roughly 5.16
billion shares, significantly lower than the daily average of 6.5
billion shares. Advancing stocks outpaced the decliners on the
NYSE; as for 49% stocks that rose, 47% stocks moved lower.
Investors remained apprehensive ahead of the presidential
elections and were hesitant to make any big moves. Benchmarks
were flat initially, but added gains during the later part of the
day. Both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt
Romney were busy making last minute efforts before Tuesday's
elections by holding rallies in Ohio and other states. National
polls hint President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are going
almost neck to neck.
According to market experts, uncertainty surrounding the results
has kept the market stagnant for the past few weeks. A report
from CNBC shows that stock markets have done well under
Democratic Presidents and under them the Dow managed an average
gain of 74% while the S&P 500 returned an average gain of
80%. Under Republican presidents, the Dow and S&P 500 managed
average gains of 47% and 41%, respectively. For the Dow, this is
true since 1901, while for the S&P 500 this has happened
since 1928.
Demand Media Inc's (NYSE:
DMD
) shares surged 6.1% after reporting better-than-expected
quarterly results. The company reported record quarterly revenues
and profits. According to the company, more people are visiting
their websites such as eHow, Livestrong and Cracked. However,
Time Warner Cable Inc's (NYSE:
TWC
) quarterly results missed the Street's estimates. The company's
shares tumbled 6.4% following the announcement of quarterly
results.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM)
non-manufacturing index decreased to 54.2 in October from 55.1 in
September. This was below consensus estimates of 55.4. The
business activity index fell to 55.4 in October from 59.9 in
September, while the new orders index fell to 54.8 from the
September figure of 57.7. The employment index rose 3.8 points to
54.9 in October. According to the report, Agriculture,
Construction and Finance & Insurance industries have reported
growth while mining, while Arts and Wholesale trades reported
contraction in October.
The energy sector had a good run yesterday and the Energy Select
Sector SPDR (XLE) surged 0.8%. Stocks such as Exxon Mobil
Corporation (NYSE:
XOM
), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:
CVX
), Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:
MRO
), Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (NYSE:
PBR
) and Statoil ASA (NYSE:
ST
) rose 0.4%, 0.8%, 1.9%, 1.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
Technology bellwether Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:
AAPL
) gained 1.4% after the company said it sold 3 million iPads
since it launched the iPad mini and the fourth-generation iPad.
The Technology SPDR (XLK) gained 0.6%. Stocks such as
Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:
HPQ
), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:
DELL
), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:
MSFT
) and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:
SNDK
) surged 1.8%, 2.2%, 0.4% and 2.0%, respectively.
APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis
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DELL INC (DELL): Free Stock Analysis Report
DEMAND MEDIA (DMD): Free Stock Analysis
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HEWLETT PACKARD (HPQ): Free Stock Analysis
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MARATHON OIL CP (MRO): Free Stock Analysis
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MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis
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PETROBRAS-ADR C (PBR): Free Stock Analysis
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SANDISK CORP (SNDK): Free Stock Analysis
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SENSATA TECHNOL (ST): Free Stock Analysis
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