US close: Stocks higher following Biden's election race exit

Major indices closed higher on Monday after Joe Biden dropped out of the US presidential race over the weekend.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.32% at 40,415.44, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.08% to 5,564.41 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.58% stronger at 18,007.57.

The Dow closed 127.91 points higher on Monday, reclaiming a portion of the losses recorded in the previous session.

President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the election race was in focus on Monday, with him opting to endorse vice-president Kamala Harris for the Democratic Party's nomination.

Both Biden's performance in last month's debate and a recent attempt on Donald Trump's life led to calls for the incumbent to bow out of the race in favour of Harris.

On the macro front, the Chicago Federal Reserve's national activity index decreased to +0.05 in June, down from an upwardly revised reading of +0.23 in May but ahead of market expectations for a reading of -0.09.

In the corporate space, Verizon posted quarterly revenues that came in short of estimates on the back of slower-than-anticipated handset upgrades.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $74.96 3.20%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $254.26 2.67%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.27 2.36%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $336.67 1.63%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $443.38 1.43%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.51 1.07%
American Express Co. (AXP) $244.97 1.01%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.31 0.99%
3M Co. (MMM) $104.79 0.84%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $205.35 0.76%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.06 -6.15%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.14 -1.67%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $156.98 -1.36%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $557.84 -1.32%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $46.79 -1.06%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $64.64 -1.00%
Boeing Co. (BA) $178.46 -0.67%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $70.46 -0.40%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $154.39 -0.19%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $125.61 -0.13%

S&P 500 - Risers

Mattel Inc. (MAT) $18.67 15.06%
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $245.04 9.12%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $976.53 6.48%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $809.02 6.09%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $223.06 6.09%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.46 5.04%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $92.98 4.74%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $123.46 4.69%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $194.88 4.66%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $72.91 4.43%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.06 -6.15%
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $248.46 -5.50%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $43.76 -3.69%
MGM Resorts International (MGM) $43.72 -3.63%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $76.54 -3.44%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $21.93 -3.16%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $61.15 -3.14%
AT&T Inc. (T) $18.54 -3.03%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $33.39 -2.94%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $22.01 -2.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $976.53 6.48%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $809.02 6.09%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $223.06 6.09%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $252.37 5.51%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $940.03 4.99%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $92.98 4.74%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $123.46 4.69%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $194.88 4.66%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $72.91 4.43%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $587.77 4.38%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.73 -3.98%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $76.54 -3.44%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $177.31 -2.60%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $312.71 -2.37%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $39.36 -1.80%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $3,908.14 -1.49%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $46.79 -1.12%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $50.33 -1.10%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $65.25 -0.94%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $249.25 -0.93%