US Stocks Flat As Earnings Picture Improves

NEW YORK, Nov 1, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 01st Nov, 2016 ) - Wall Street stocks were little-changed early Tuesday as the market weighed improving corporate earnings against rising uncertainty over the US presidential election.

With almost 60 percent of the S&P 500 having reported, companies are on track for a earnings gain of 1.6 percent compared with last year, the first year-over-year gain since early 2015, according to Factset.

Markets remained cautious ahead of the November 8 vote. Democrat Hillary Clinton still leads Republican rival Donald Trump by two percentage points in the RealClear politics average of polls. But an ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll released Tuesday showed Clinton had lost her lead and Trump was one point ahead.

Investors are nervous over the possibility of a Trump win because of the Republican's unpredictability. Uncertainty about the race is why "the market remains held in check with a slight downward bias," Briefing.

com analyst Patrick O'Hare said.

About 35 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 18,142.63, essentially flat. The broad-based S&P 500 dipped less than 0.1 percent to 2,125.21, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was up a hair at 5,189.25.

Pfizer fell 0.4 percent as it reported lower-than-expected earnings and cancelled the development program for its Bococizumab cholesterol drug, which had been seen as a potential growth driver.

Women's handbag maker Coach rose 3.6 percent as earnings rose in the quarter ending October 1 by 21.8 percent to $117.4 million. Newspaper and digital media company Tronc plummeted 19.6 percent after Gannett announced it was no longer interested in buying the company.

Gannett rose 0.9 percent. L Brands, the parent company of Victoria's Secret, sank 8.4 percent as it lowered is third-quarter profit forecast after October comparable sales came in one percent higher.