Markets Mostly Lower As Americans Head To Vote, Oil Continues To Tumble

U.S. stocks mostly closed slightly lower a day after major indices hit record all time highs.

Americans are heading to the ballots today in a congressional election. The Republican party is expected to increase the number of seats it controls in the House and Senate.

The CBOE Volatility Index rose 3.7 percent to 15.26 as Brent crude continued to trade lower after Saudi Arabia lowered lowered the price of oil to the U.S. while increasing the price of oil it sells to Asia and Europe.

In economic news, the European Union issued light guidance for Euro-zone growth through 2016 while U.S. trade gap expanded in September.

• The Dow gained 0.10 percent, closing at 17,383.84.
• The S&P 500 lost 0.28 percent, closing at 2,012.10.
• The Nasdaq lost 0.33 percent, closing at 4,623.64.
• Gold lost 0.25 percent, trading at $1,166.90 an ounce.
• Oil lost 2.02 percent, trading at $77.19 a barrel.
• Silver lost 1.15 percent, trading at $16.01 an ounce.

News Of Note

ICSC Retail Store Sales rose 1.8 percent year over year after rising 2.8 percent last week.

September Trade Balance fell to -$43 billion (versus expectations of -$40.7 billion) from -$40.0 billion in August. Imports totaled $238.6 billion while Exports totaled $195.6 billion.

Redbook Chain Store Sales rose 3.9 percent year over year after rising 4.4 percent last week.

The European Union Commission expects the Euro zone's economy to expand 0.8 percent in 2014, 1.1 percent in 2015 and 1.7 percent in 2016.

Equities News Of Note

Analysts at Sterne Agee initiated coverage on Wal-Mart WMT with a Neutral rating and $70 price target. Shares gained 1.28 percent, closing at $77.26.

Alibaba BABA reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $2.79 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74. Revenue of $2.74 billion beat the consensus estimate of $2.64 billion. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $106.36 before closing the day at $106.07, up 4.19 percent.

CVS CVS reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $1.15 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13. Revenue of $35.02 billion beat the consensus estimate of $34.73 billion. Shares lost 0.75 percent, closing at $85.47.

Priceline Group PCLN reported its third quarter results this morning. The company earned $22.16 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $21.14. Revenue of $2.84 billion beat the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. Shares lost 8.41 percent, closing the day at $1,097.70 after the company issued light fourth quarter guidance.

The NHTSA announced it will investigate Honda Motors HMC over its 7.8 million vehicle recall last month. Shares lost 4.24 percent, closing at $31.02.

SandRidge Energy SD disclosed that the company may need to restate nearly two years of quarterly results following an SEC inquiry. Shares hit new 52-week lows of $3.50 before closing the day at $3.56, down 6.56 percent.

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Foot Locker's FL CEO Ken Hicks says he plans to retire and leave the company on December 1. Shares lost 4.52 percent, closing at $53.63.

Microsoft MSFT announced a partnership with Dropbox to integrate Office's PC, mobile and cloud apps within Dropbox's platform. Shares hit new 52-week highs of $47.73 before closing the day at $47.57, up 0.27 percent.

A U.S. District Court ruled that Valeant Pharmaceuticals VRX and Bill Ackman's Pershing Square could vote at Allergan's AGN special shareholder meeting on December 18. Shares of Valeant gained 0.57 percent, closing at $133.61 while shares of Allergan hit new 52-week highs of $196.54 before closing the day at $195.12, up 1.03 percent.

Amgen AMGN disclosed its TRINOVA-1 ovarian cancer drug failed to meet primary endpoints in a Phase 3 trial. Shares lost 0.71 percent, closing at $160.41.

Google GOOG announced in a blog post further price cuts for its cloud infrastructure lineup. Shares lost 0.20 percent, closing at $554.11.

Quote of the Day

"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting." - Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. President