Stocks stumbled on Monday as investors geared up for the U.S. presidential election and a potential Federal Reserve rate cut later this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 257.59 points, or 0.61%, to close at 41,794.60. The S&P 500 dipped 0.28% to settle at 5,712.69, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.33% to 18,179.98.

Trading was choppy throughout the day. The Dow at one point fell more than 400 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq shuffled between gains and losses.

Tuesday's election results could play a pivotal role in where stocks finish off the year. The latest poll from NBC News shows a "deadlocked race" between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Lauren Goodwin, economist and chief market strategist at New York Life Investments, said investors appear to be trying to price in the relatively small changes in the perception of who is likely to win the election.

"This election is too close to call. Neither I nor anyone else has any real edge on what's likely to happen. So that makes the market's moves kind of binary," Goodwin said.

Any market aftershocks may depend on which party takes control of Congress. Major legislative changes would be difficult to pass if control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate is divided. A Republican or Democratic sweep, however, would likely be coupled with a White House victory for the same party, and could mean ambitious spending plans or a tax overhaul.

A small rally for Nvidia helped stabilize the market for most of the day, but the stock closed well off its highs for the session. Shares finished up about 0.5% after S&P Dow Jones Indices announced late Friday that the chipmaker would replace rival Intel in the 30-stock Dow. The change, which takes effect at the end of the week, comes as Nvidia continues to rip higher while Intel languishes in the artificial intelligence race.

Nvidia is up 174% year to date, while Intel has lost more than half its value in 2024.

Elsewhere, utility stocks weighed on the market after federal regulators rejected a Talen Energy request to increase nuclear power at a plant in Pennsylvania to provide more electricity for an Amazon data center. Stocks tied to fossil fuels and solar power both rose, however, and oil climbed 2%.

Financials and health-care stocks were also weak areas of the market, as Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth Group fell 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively, dragging down the Dow.

Along with the election, Wall Street is also bracing for the latest rate decision from the Federal Reserve on Thursday. Traders are pricing in a 98% likelihood of a quarter-point rate cut at the conclusion of the central bank's policy meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool. That would follow a half-percentage-point reduction by the central bank in September.

The moves in stocks Monday came as safe-haven U.S. Treasurys rallied, suggesting that some investors may be reducing risk ahead of Election Day. The benchmark 10-year Treasury was trading at a yield of about 4.3% on Monday, down from roughly 4.36% on Friday. Yields on bonds move in the opposite direction from their price.

— CNBC's Sarah Min contributed reporting

Stocks close lower Monday as Election Day looms

The major averages slumped in the final session before Election Day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 258 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both slipped about 0.3%.

— Darla Mercado

Election clarity may not be a 'green light' for stocks

Weak economic data over the past week suggests the market won't necessarily rally once the election is decided, according to Andrew Smith, chief investment strategist at Delos Capital Advisors in Dallas.

"This volatility I think is going to be around for a while even after the election outcome, because there just needs to be more market clearing events for investors to get that green light to move forward," Smith said.

Additionally, the market's movement over the past few weeks does not point to a clear election winner, Smith said.

"I think the market is very confused right now. They're holding back," he added.

— Jesse Pound

A near-term pullback is in sight, Raymond James says

Raymond James strategist Javed Mirza said in a note to clients that the stock market appears to be in the early stages of a pullback.

"Ongoing deterioration in Market Breadth and the Percentage of Stocks with Bullish Patterns, in conjunction with weakening Investor Sentiment is consistent with a new intermediate-term (1-3 month) equity market corrective phase getting underway," wrote Mirza. "Equity markets have reached our time target for the intermediate-term equity market rally that began in August, which further reinforces our view that the reward/risk ratio at current levels is poor."

— Lisa Kailai Han

Earnings season still looks strong, Bank of America says

A total of 349 companies in the S&P 500, or nearly 80% of the index, have reported earnings so far this season, and all signs seem to imply that this third-quarter earnings season will remain strong.

"Consensus EPS is now up 2% vs. where it stood as of Oct 1, tracking +6% YoY, in line with our forecast. 68%/57%/45% beat on EPS/sales/both so far, compared to the historical average of 59%/59%/41% and last quarter's 71%/56%/46%," wrote Bank of America strategist Savita Subramanian in a recent note.

The strategist added that while mentions of weak demand have spiked, there are signs of a "bottom."

"Our data suggests that the worst in de-stocking is behind us," she wrote. "Corporate Sentiment also soured to its lows for the year but malaise is typical of pre-election uncertainty, suggesting that any pickup will likely be a late 4Q24 or 2025 story."

Meanwhile, results from four members of the "Magnificent Seven" last week — Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta — point to a multiyear artificial intelligence investment phase.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Morgan Stanley raises its price target on Amazon

Morgan Stanley's Brian Nowak kept his overweight rating and raised his price target on Amazon to $230 following the shipping giant's better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue report. That suggests 16.2% potential upside for the company.

The analyst also raised his earnings expectations on Amazon for 2025 and 2026.

"Amazon's high-margin businesses continue to allow Amazon to drive greater profitability while still continuing to invest (last mile delivery, fulfillment, Prime Now, Fresh, Prime digital content, Alexa/Echo, India, AWS, etc)," Nowak said in a Monday note to clients.

He added that Amazon Prime membership growth continues to drive recurring revenue, and that its advertising business is key for further growth and profitability. The company's cloud adoption is hitting an inflection point, he noted.

— Pia Singh

Traders are pricing in too many Fed rate cuts, BlackRock Investment Institute says

Traders are still pricing in Federal Reserve rate cuts too aggressively, according to the BlackRock Investment Institute.

Jean Boivin, the head of the institute, said in a note to clients on Monday that lingering inflation could keep the Fed's benchmark rate higher than expected through 2025. Traders are currently pricing in more than one full percentage point of additional rate cuts by the end of next year, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

A solid economy and stubborn inflation will likely keep the central bank from taking rates that low, Boivin said.

"U.S. Q3 GDP data last week showed consumer spending is still driving overall economic growth. Average monthly job creation over the past three months now stands at 104,000 after last week's jobs report — still a healthy pace and one likely to pick up given hiring stalled due to hurricane-related disruptions. As the U.S. election occurs, neither presidential candidate is focused on budget deficits that are likely to stay large no matter who wins," Boivin's note said.

— Jesse Pound

Bank stocks can benefit in the event of a Trump win, says D.A. Davidson

Bank stocks can benefit in the near term in the event of a win for former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to D.A. Davidson.

"We view near term bank stock trading as more likely to benefit in that scenario, with a potential dip if Harris is victorious, while our longer-term bias, based on bank fundamentals, remains constructive, regardless who wins," analyst Gary Tenner wrote Monday.

"Presuming lower rates and a sound economy, we would expect loan growth to improve regardless of the next White House inhabitant, as many banks have suggested election uncertainty, along with still elevated interest rates, is the current sticking point for customers," he added.

— Brian Evans

Stocks making the biggest moves midday Monday

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• Nvidia, Sherwin-Williams — The stocks rose more than 1% and roughly 3%, respectively, on the heels of the announcement that both are going to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, effective Friday. Nvidia is slated to replace rival chipmaker Intel, while paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams will replace Dow Inc. Intel shares slid more than 4%, and Dow Inc. fell 2.7%.
• Berkshire Hathaway — Shares dropped nearly 3% after Warren Buffett's conglomerate revealed that operating earnings totaled $10.1 billion in the third quarter, about 6% lower than a year ago. This was also slightly below what analysts polled by FactSet had forecast.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Stocks near lows of session at midday

Stocks were trading near their lows of the session in midday trading. The Dow was briefly down more than 400 points at its low.

— Jesse Pound

Oil gains more than 2% after OPEC+ delays production boost

Crude oil futures rose more than 2% on Monday, after OPEC+ delayed plans to increased production by one month until the end of December.

U.S. crude oil had gained $1.70, or 2.45%, to $71.19 per barrel by 11:45 a.m. ET, while global benchmark Brent was up $1.66, or 2.27%, to $74.76 per barrel.

OPEC+ plans to increase production and soft demand in China have weighed on prices for months, though the war in the Middle East has intervened occasionally to support brief rallies.

— Spencer Kimball

Independent power producer Vistra slumps Monday before joining Dow Utilities Average on Friday

Sometimes changes in the membership of stock market averages are just bad timing. Sometimes, they mark a top.

Either way, high-flying independent power producer Vistra Corp., which has more than tripled in value in just the first 10 months of 2024, is slumping Monday in reaction to regulators' decision to block Talen Energy from sending additional power from a Pennsylvania nuclear plant to an adjacent Amazon data center.

Vistra, which hopes to make similar deals, briefly dropped as much as 6.7% in early Monday trading.

An index change Friday involving Vistra was overshadowed by news that Nvidia is set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average. After the stock market closed Nov. 1, S&P Dow Jones Indices also said it will add Vistra to the Dow Jones Utility Average effective this Friday, Nov. 8, replacing AES Corp., saying it would "ensure a more representative exposure to the Independent Power Producers and Renewable Electricity Producers industry within the Utilities sector."

— Scott Schnipper

Talen, Constellation, Vistra tumble after government rejects Amazon nuclear data center agreement

Independent power producers Talen Energy, Constellation Energy and Vistra Corp. tumbled on Monday, after a federal regulator rejected a request to increase power for an Amazon data center.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday rejected a request to increase the amount of power the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania can dispatch to an Amazon data center campus.

Independent power producer Talen Energy in March sold the data center campus to Amazon for $650 million, which would be powered by the nuclear plant in a first-of-its-kind deal.

Talen's stock fell 2% in morning trading on FERC's denial order. Constellation Energy and Vistra Corp. tumbled more than 10% and nearly 3%, respectively, in sympathy. Investors were expecting Constellation and Vistra to announce similar deals at some point.

— Spencer Kimball

Election risks may be overblown, says Citi

Any risks that the U.S. presidential election poses to the market may actually be overstated, according to Citi.

"For the lead-up to the U.S. election, equity market behavior has not been in line with previous elections," analyst Chris Montagu wrote in a Monday note, pointing to October's "relatively strong" market performance, a lower CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) and a lack of de-risking among investors through the selling of expensive stocks.

"Overall, this suggests that other risks, such as U.S. macro, reporting season etc., are having a bigger influence than any perceived election risks," he continued.

— Sean Conlon

Viking Therapeutics' oral obesity drug showed greater weight loss than expected, shares pop 5%

Viking Therapeutics stock has already climbed more than 290% so far this year, as investors have high hopes for an oral obesity drug it is developing. A fresh peek at progress in an early-stage clinical trial is sending shares up about 5% Monday.

Patients taking a 100 milligram dose achieved an average weight loss of about 8.2% in a month, which was better than expected and tops rivals' experimental treatments, according to the results shared at an industry conference. Even better, the pill was well tolerated with only mild side effects, and patients continuing treatment were seeing further weight loss.

Like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, Viking's pill uses incretin hormones such as GLP-1 to regulate blood sugar and tamp down feelings of hunger. But doctors expect a weight loss pill would be welcomed by patients who do not want to inject themselves with their medications. Oral medications are also cheaper and easier to manufacture, which could be an advantage given the large population living with obesity and overweight.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

Stocks move lower

The equity market was trending lower in the opening hour of trading, with the Dow now down about 150 points. Treasury yields are also lower on the day, suggesting a risk-off trade may be happening Monday.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks open little changed on Monday

The major stock market averages were little changed shortly after the opening bell rang in New York. The Dow shed 55 points, or about 0.1%, while the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite was down about 0.1%.

— Jesse Pound

Bank of America Securities upgrades Charter Communications, says it's gaining momentum

It's time to buy Charter Communications after its latest quarterly results, according to Bank of America Securities.

Analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich upgraded shares to buy from neutral, and hiked her price target, saying the third-quarter results for the telecommunications company behind Spectrum suggest broadband subscriber trends and overall financials are improving.

The analyst's price objective hike to $450 from $385 implies more than 20% upside from Friday's closing price. The stock rose 1% in the premarket.

"Overall, results were much better than forecast as both broadband subscriber and overall financial results beat our projections," the analyst wrote Monday. "The company appears to be gaining momentum as sub results are improving and it works its way through plant upgrades and build-outs."

The rating change comes after Charter's third-quarter results beat expectations. Adjusted EBITDA of $5.65 billion topped the FactSet consensus estimate of $5.59 billion. Revenue of $13.80 billion exceeded the forecast $13.66 billion.

— Sarah Min

Trump Media, Nvidia among the names making moves before the bell

Here are some stocks making big moves in the premarket:

• Talen Energy — The independent power company tumbled more than 8% after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a request to increase the amount of power the Susquehanna nuclear plant can dispatch to an Amazon data center campus. Talen owns the nuclear plant and sold the data center campus to Amazon earlier this year. Constellation Energy and Vistra's stocks fell about 9% and 3%, respectively, in sympathy. Constellation and Vistra were expected by investors to announce similar arrangements with tech companies at some point.
• Trump Media & Technology Group — Shares of former President Donald Trump's media company pulled back more than 3% ahead of the U.S. election on Tuesday. The stock has been increasingly volatile in the days leading up to the election.
• Nvidia, Sherwin-Williams — Shares of Nvidia and Sherwin-William rose nearly 2% and more than 4%, respectively, following the announcement that both names are set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, effective Nov. 8. Nvidia is set to replace rival chipmaker Intel, and Sherwin-Williams will replace Dow Inc. Shares of Intel were more than 1% lower, while Dow Inc. shares were off 0.6%.

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

Bank of America upgrades Peloton, sees 24% upside ahead

Bank of America upgraded Peloton to buy from underperform Monday, saying it sees "many miles" of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization growth under incoming CEO Peter Stern. The bank also raised its price target to $9 from $3.75, suggesting 24% upside from Friday's close.

The exercise equipment company reported an earnings beat last Thursday, along with the announcement of its new CEO.

"We believe Peloton can exceed $300mn in EBITDA this year (current est is $295mn) and see $400mn+ as possible over the next few years," analyst Curtis Nagle said in a note to clients.

He also sees a large opportunity for more cuts in operating expenses under Stern, who starts in January, as well as higher hardware margins and subscription price increases. Peloton is also in a stronger capital position than it was six months ago.

Shares of Peloton were up nearly 6% in premarket trading.

— Michelle Fox

Marriott stock slips after earnings miss

Shares of Marriott International were down more than 2% in premarket trading after the hotel company's third-quarter report came in short of expectations.

Marriott reported $2.26 in adjusted earnings per share on $6.26 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were looking for $2.31 in earnings per share and $6.27 billion of revenue.

The company's net income declined to $584 million from $752 million last year even as total revenue climbed.

— Jesse Pound

Berkshire operating earnings are a little light as Buffett builds $300 billion cash fortress

Berkshire Hathaway reported its third-quarter earnings over the weekend. Here were the highlights:

• Warren Buffett's conglomerate has now built a $325.2 billion cash position, up from $276.9 billion in the prior quarter, as the "Oracle of Omaha" continues to sell down stock.
• Berkshire did not repurchase any of its own shares in the quarter, after buying back $345 million in the prior quarter.
• Berkshire's operating earnings, which encompass profits from the conglomerate's fully owned businesses, were $10.1 billion in the third quarter, down about 6% from a year prior due to weak insurance underwriting. That was a bit less than analysts estimated, according to the FactSet consensus.

Berkshire B shares, which are up 27% this year, were off slightly in early trading.

— John Melloy, Yun Li

Buffett continues selling down Apple

Warren Buffett sold another big piece of his giant Apple stake, cutting about a quarter of his holding in the iPhone maker, filings showed Saturday. Berkshire Hathaway offloaded approximately 100 million shares to bring his take to 300 million shares. In total, the stake is down 67% since he began selling four quarters ago.

Berkshire dumped half its stake in the second quarter. It is not clear why Buffett, 94, is selling Apple, a stock he has lauded over the years for its dominant position in the smartphone market. Analysts have speculated it is because of high valuations and to reduce portfolio concentration since Apple had become such a large part of the portfolio. Buffett implied earlier in the year some of it could be for tax reasons.

Apple shares were slightly lower in premarket trading.

— John Melloy, Yun Li

European markets open mixed

European markets were mixed as trading kicked off on Monday.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last 0.02% lower at 8:11 a.m. London time. Sectors diverged, with oil and gas and mining stocks adding 0.57% and 0.59%, respectively, while tech shares dipped 0.7%.

Regional bourses were also mixed, with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 last adding 0.33%, while Germany's DAX shed 0.14%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Asia-Pacific markets rise as investors await U.S. elections, China parliament meeting outcome

SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday as investors geared up for a busy week that includes the U.S. presidential election, Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting and China's parliament meeting.

South Korea's blue-chip Kospi rose 1.83% to 2,588.97, snapping a three-day losing streak, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 3.43% to close at 754.08.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.27% as of its final hour of trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 rose 1.41% to end at 3,944.76.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.56% higher at 8,164.6. The Taiwan Weighted Index gained 0.81% to close at 22,965.39.

— Anniek Bao

Stock futures open lower as Wall Street readies for U.S. presidential election

Stock futures opened lower in overnight trading Sunday as Wall Street awaited Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.

Futures connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%, or 130 points, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.25%. Nasdsq-100 futures dropped 0.3%

— Samantha Subin