Stocks rose on Monday as crude oil prices fell and offset investor uncertainty about the outcome of the US presidential election. Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile exchange sank more than $2 below $50 a barrel on technical selling. The market later regained some ground, and NYMEX oil futures were off $1.41 to $50.35.
Record oil prices have hampered stocks for weeks as investors fret over the effect of high energy prices on profits. As crude fell on Monday, economically sensitive stocks like United Technologies Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. pulled the Dow higher.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 34.88 points, or 0.35 percent, at 10,062.35 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.51 points, or 0.13 percent, at 1,131.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 5.74 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,980.73.
Nasdaq drew support from PeopleSoft Inc. as its shares shot up nearly 11 percent after rival Oracle Corp., raised its offer for the software company $3 per share to $24 in a hostile take-over attempt.
Before Tuesday's election, Wall Street's immediate concern seemed to be on having a quick, clear decision.
In 2000 the tight race forced a vote recount in Florida, delaying a decision on who had won. The stock market sold off amid the uncertainty.
"I think we're marking time now until the election, and if this rally continues, maybe people will think Bush is going to win," Bill Punk, managing partner, Punk Ziegel & Company, said. "As long as we don't have an election where there are delays in finding out who is winning, I think a Bush win will help the market."
President George W. Bush edged into a one-point national lead over Democratic Sen. John Kerry on Monday, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll. Bush led Kerry 48-47 percent in the latest 3-day national tracking poll, well within the margin of error.
Shares of drug maker Merck & Co. fell more than 8 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported the company tried to bury concerns over its drug Vioxx for years. Merck was off $2.58, or 8.2 percent, to $28.72.
Vioxx was withdrawn from the market after safety concerns were raised.
PeopleSoft shares rose $2.14, or 10.3 percent at $22.91, while Oracle rose 12 cents to $12.78. Both trade on Nasdaq.
Caterpillar was up $1.11, or 1.38 percent to $81.65 on the NYSE, while United Technologies rose $1.40 or 1.5 percent, to $94.23.