Stocks slipped Monday as investors looked ahead towards the results of the U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve's next policy decision later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 250 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite lost about 0.3% each.
Here's how the market settled on Monday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.28% or -16.12 points to 5,712.68
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.61% or -257.59 points to 41,794.60
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -0.33% or -59.93 points to 18,179.98
Moving Markets:
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is replacing Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Nov. 8, the S&P Dow Jones said in a statement late Friday, allowing the blue-chip index to access more exposure in the emerging artificial intelligence market. With its addition, four of the six trillion-dollar tech companies -- with Nvidia joining Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: AMZN), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) -- are now in the Dow, excluding only Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META).
Separately, Sherwin Williams (NYSE: SHW) will replaces Dow Inc (NYSE: DOW) in the index. These shake-ups are the first changes to the Dow since February, when Amazon replaced Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA).
In the News:
Bank of America analyst Curtis Nagle upgraded Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ: PTON) to Buy from Underperform on Monday, praising increased earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization growth under incoming CEO Peter Stern. The firm also raised its price target to $9 from $3.75, implying 24% upside from Friday's close.
"We believe Peloton can exceed $300mn in EBITDA this year (current est is $295mn) and see $400mn+ as possible over the next few years," Nagle wrote in a note to clients. Nagle add that Peloton is in a better capital position compared to six months ago, and Stern is likely to cut operating expenses, as well as increase hardware margins and subscription prices.
Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak raised the firm's price target for Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to $230, implying a more than 16% upside, following the e-commerce giant's strong third-quarter earnings report. The analyst also raised his Amazon earnings forecast 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 highlighted in a note to clients on Monday.
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) shares climbed higher Monday after the biotech's oral obesity drug showed greater-than-expected weight loss in an early-stage clinical trial. Patients taking a 100 milligram dose had an average weight loss of about 8.2% in a month, according to the results, with the pill being well tolerated with only mild side effects.
U.S. Election Watch:
D.A. Davidson analyst Gary Tenner wrote in a note on Monday that bank stocks could see some near-term upside if former President Donald Trump wins the general election on Tuesday.
"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," Tenner wrote.
"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."
For Tuesday:
Market participants will turn their attention towards October's S&P final U.S. services PMI and ISM services readings on Tuesday, as well as earnings reports from companies including Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR), Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC), Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR) and Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM).