Energy and financial stocks pushed U.S. equities higher on Monday, on the eve of U.S. midterm elections to determine whether President Donald Trump`s Republican Party retains control of the U.S. Congress and ahead of a meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers.
Choppy trading in oil left prices mixed after five days of heavy losses as the United States imposed a range of sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports by Iran.
The Trump administration`s decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran`s exports lifted oil prices for much of the day, boosting many U.S. shares. But the Nasdaq index <.ixic> fell, pressured by slumping shares of Apple and Amazon. Nikkei reported Apple has told two smartphone assemblers to halt plans for additional production lines dedicated to the lower-cost iPhone XR.
Investors were also cautious ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. Opinion polls show the Democratic Party could win control of the House of Representatives after two years of wielding no practical political power in Washington, with Republicans likely to hold the Senate.
"What`s spooking the market is not Congress or Senate," said Gregory Perdon, co-chief investment officer at Arbuthnot Latham, "what`s spooking the market is the volatility of Trump," which might not be tempered by any change in Congress.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 190.87 points, or 0.76 percent, to 25,461.7, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.25 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,738.31 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 28.14 points, or 0.38 percent, to 7,328.85.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index <.stoxx> lost 0.16 percent and MSCI`s gauge of stocks across the globe <.miwd00000pus> gained 0.10 percent.
Emerging market stocks rose 2.60 percent.
Oil prices fell, despite Washington`s temporary exemption to eight countries allowing them to keep buying Iranian oil amid sanctions.
Brent crude futures
U.S. Treasury yields were lower as investors covered short positions ahead of midterm elections and braced for $83 billion worth of government debt supply tied to the November refunding this week.
With the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, investors were also concerned about prospects for tighter U.S. monetary policy after strong economic data.
Benchmark 10-year notes
The 30-year bond
Sterling touched a two-week high against the U.S. dollar then pared gains
The U.S. dollar softened against a basket of major currencies as investors, cautious ahead of the elections, took profits after three straight weeks of gains.
The dollar index <.dxy> fell 0.24 percent, with the euro
"Much of Trump’s pro-growth, pro-markets agenda has arguably been enacted in the first two years of his presidency while he’s had the backing of both the House and Senate," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
05:15 AM IST