US close: Markets end green on last day of campaign madness

US markets were buoyed on Monday by news that Hillary Clinton was likely to be heading to the White House on 8 November, after the FBI cleared the Democratic candidate over use of her emails on a private server.

James Comey, the director of the FBI, told Congress before markets opened that the second probe into Clinton’s emails reaffirmed his July verdict of no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 2.08% to 18,259.60 points, the S&P 500 climbed 2.22% to 2,131.52 points and the Nasdaq 100 soared 2.43% to 4,773.73 points.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said the Dow Jones displayed a clear preference for president, as expected, with the index surging 250 points following Clinton’s email verdict.

“That takes the Dow back ... after abandoning that level last Tuesday in the aftermath of the FBI controversially re-opening the Clinton email case.

“So, Monday has proceeded in a way eerily similar to the scenes before the Brexit back in June.”

Campbell said In the run-up to the Brexit referendum, the markets saw a last minute surge as investors prepared for Britain to remain in the EU, only to suffer a shock when the votes were counted.

“The market has a bit more time to steady itself before the results of the election are announced, as the US electorate head to the polls tomorrow it will be interesting to see whether investors opt for continued Clinton confidence, sensible stability, or a sharp turn Trump-wards.”

Meanwhile, oil rebounded on the news that the secretary general of OPEC said the cartel was committed to a deal to cut production, but doubts persist over the feasibility of the plan.

An earthquake also hit Oklahoma on Sunday near the country's biggest crude-storage base.

Brent crude was last up 1.62% to $46.33 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate leapt up 2.02% to $44.98.

In corporate news, shares in Sotheby's increased 11.2% as the auctioneer reported a wider-than-expected $545m loss, or 99 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared to $17.9m, or 26 cents, last year.

Revenue fell 34% to $91.5m, but ahead of the forecast consensus of $75.8m.

Lending Club shares jumped 15.2%, reversing earlier gains of more than 18%, as the peer-to-peer lending company's third quarter results beat expectations as revenue fell 1.48% to $114.56m, compared to last year and ahead of expectations of $103.65m.

Shares in Dean Foods rose 2.28% as the milk producer also beat third quarter expectations, with earnings down 25% to $15m, or 16 cents a share, and adjusted earnings was 37 cents, above the forecast consensus of 36 cents.

Revenue slipped to $1.96bn from $2.03bn.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.69 3.21%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $181.43 3.16%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $69.88 3.13%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $141.93 3.06%
General Electric Co. (GE) $29.31 3.06%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $60.42 2.91%
Visa Inc. (V) $82.45 2.68%
Boeing Co. (BA) $143.03 2.50%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $30.94 2.48%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $123.75 2.35%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $105.36 0.66%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $47.46 0.81%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $69.78 0.90%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $30.38 1.27%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $69.52 1.33%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $116.66 1.35%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $110.41 1.44%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $112.82 1.60%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $103.05 1.70%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $86.56 1.74%

S&P 500 - Risers

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $19.82 11.66%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $52.76 9.83%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $365.39 7.03%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $295.62 6.72%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $10.09 6.10%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $65.22 5.86%
Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $124.24 5.68%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $71.27 5.48%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $76.11 5.47%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $32.11 5.45%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $120.05 -6.94%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $36.49 -3.47%
Westrock Company (WRK) $45.27 -2.33%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $15.42 -1.91%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $41.09 -1.46%
DaVita Inc (DVA) $57.83 -1.33%
Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $50.47 -1.19%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $259.61 -0.61%
AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB) $170.72 -0.52%
Alcoa Corporation (AA) $25.08 -0.48%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $365.39 7.03%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $295.62 6.72%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $71.27 5.48%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $32.11 5.45%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $83.22 5.40%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $92.15 5.23%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $54.75 5.13%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $34.65 5.00%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $57.67 4.82%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $36.59 4.54%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $120.05 -6.94%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $41.09 -1.46%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $38.95 -1.14%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $259.61 -0.61%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $25.55 -0.35%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $63.43 -0.33%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $98.72 0.02%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $28.94 0.03%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $27.18 0.22%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $65.76 0.49%