U.S. stocks closed slightly lower after a choppy session on Monday, as investors prepared for a crucial week in which Americans will elect a new president and the Federal Reserve will announce its policy statement.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 257.59 points, or 0.61%, to 41,794.60, the S&P 500 lost 16.11 points, or 0.28%, to 5,712.69 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 59.93 points, or 0.33%, to 18,179.98.
Market Movers
Nvidia, Intel, Apple - Nvidia was rising 0.5% after it was announced Friday that the chip maker, which has experienced a demand surge for its graphics processing units to power artificial-intelligence applications, would be replacing fellow semiconductor company Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, prior to the opening of trading on Nov. 8. Intel fell 2.9%.
Nvidia once passed Apple as the largest U.S. company by market value in intraday trading Monday. Apple was down 0.4% after it was revealed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold 100 million shares of the iPhone maker, reducing its stake by 25% to 300 million shares.
Tesla - Tesla shares dropped 2.5% on Monday. The U.S. automaker sold 68,280 China-made electric vehicles in October, down 5.3% from a year earlier, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Monday. Deliveries of China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles fell 22.7% from the previous month.
Trump Media & Technology - Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group were up 12.4% after the stock tumbled 14% on Friday. Trump Media owns the Truth Social platform and is majority-owned by former President Donald Trump. The election for U.S. presidentis Tuesday and polls show the race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris remains tight.
Nuclear Energy Stocks - Talen Energy was down 2.2% after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected an amendedinterconnection service agreementin Pennsylvania for an Amazon data center with a nuclear power plant run by the power producer. Shares of energy companies helping to supply power to data centers also were falling: Centrus sank 28.8%, NANO Nuclear Energy Inc dropped 12.8%. Constellation Energy was down 12.5% and Vistra Energy declined 3.2%. Constellation Energy, meanwhile, reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue on Monday.
Viking Therapeutics, Eli Lilly, Novo-Nordisk - Viking Therapeutics fell 13.4% after rising in the premarket session. A clinical trial of the company’sexperimental oral weight-loss pillshowed promising results. A study of VK2735 among obese adults found those taking a 100-milligram dose lost an average 8.2% of their body weight after 28 days. Eli Lilly, down 1.6%, and Novo Nordisk, down 2%, also are working to develop weight-loss pills. The companies make weight-loss medications that have to be injected.
Peloton - Peloton Interactive was up 3.6% after shares of the at-home fitness company were upgraded to Buy from UnderperformatBank of America and the price target was raised to $9 from $3.75. Peloton last week namedPeter Stern, who currently serves as president of Ford Integrated Services, as CEO and president, effective Jan. 1.
Sherwin-Williams, Dow Chemical - It also was announced Friday by S&P Dow Jones Indices, which oversees the blue-chip index, that Sherwin-Williams would be added to the DJIA, replacing chemical maker Dow Inc. Shares of paint maker Sherwin-Williams rose 4.6%, while Dow Inc. was down 2.1%.
Berkshire Hathaway - Berkshire Hathaway, meanwhile, was down 2.2% asthird-quarter after-tax operating earnings fell 6% to $10.1 billion in the third quarter from $10.8 billion a year earlier. The conglomerate didn’t buy back any of its stock in the third quarter and its cash and equivalents rose $48 billion in the third quarter to a record $325 billion.
New York Times - New York Times declined 7.7% as workers from the company’s Tech Guild went on strike, overshadowing a solidthird-quarter earningsreport from the newspaper publisher.
Market News
Palantir Raises 2024 Revenue Forecast Again on Robust AI Adoption
Palantir Technologies on Monday raised its annual revenue forecast for the third time, betting on strong spending from governments and rising demand for its software services from businesses looking to adopt generative AI technology.
Shares of the company rose about 13% in extended trading.
The company now expects 2024 revenue in a range of $2.805 billion to $2.809 billion, up from its prior expectation of $2.742 billion to $2.750 billion.
Pennsylvania Judge Allows Elon Musk's $1 Million Voter Giveaway
A state judge on Monday allowed Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day giveaway to swing state voters to proceed in Pennsylvania with one day to go before the tightly contested U.S. presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Musk’s favored candidate.
Tesl CEO Musk has already given away $16 million to registered swing state voters who qualified for the giveaway by signing his political petition and said the final winner will be announced on Election Day on Tuesday.
At a hearing in Philadelphia on Monday, Judge Angelo Foglietta rejected Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s bid to block the giveaways. Krasner alleged the payouts amounted to an illegal lottery with hazily defined rules.