Stocks Rally as Election Looms

Stocks notched broad gains on Wall Street Monday as investors looked ahead to Election Day and the potential for a turbulent stretch for markets. The S&P 500 climbed 1.2%, recouping some of its losses from a sharp sell-off last week, as more companies reported stronger profits for the summer than Wall Street feared and reports on manufacturing came in better than expected. Health care, industrial, and financial companies drove much of the broad rally, which followed gains for European and Asian stocks following their own better-than-expected economic data, the AP reports. The S&P 500 rose 40.28 to 3,310.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 423.45 points, or 1.6%, to 26,925.05. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.4% to 10,957.61.

Caution, though, was continuing to hang over markets as the pandemic raises worries that customers will stay away from businesses and pushes more European governments to bring back restrictions. Uncertainty about Tuesday's election is also weighing on markets, and Treasury yields were mixed. "People are probably more than willing to hold off to see what happens tomorrow night," said David Trainer, CEO of investment research firm New Constructs. Beyond the election, it’s an incredibly busy week for markets, with the Federal Reserve announcing its latest decision on interest rates Thursday, the US Labor Department releasing its market-moving monthly jobs report on Friday, and roughly 130 companies in the S&P 500 scheduled to report their results for the summer through the week. (More stock market stories.)