NEW YORK (REUTERS) - US stocks soared on Monday as US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's prospects got a boost a day ahead of the election after the FBI said it would not press criminal charges related to her use of a private email server.
Wall Street closed lower for nine days in a row through Friday, their longest losing streak in more than 35 years and one that gained momentum after the FBI said on Oct. 28 that it was reviewing some newly found emails Clinton sent using a private server during her tenure as secretary of state.
The FBI said on Sunday that it would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton, standing by its July finding that she was not guilty of criminal wrongdoing.
At least three polls on Monday showed Democrat nominee Clinton was in the lead over Republican Donald Trump.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll showed 47 per cent of 1,763 likely US voters backing Clinton and 43 per cent supporting Mr Trump. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
"Investors are reacting this morning to moving the email controversy to the sidelines, but still looking at a race that is too close to call, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Equity Capital Markets in New York. "It's a market that is going to scrape back some losses we've seen over the last nine days and shift into stall mode at some point in time." At 9:34 a.m. ET (9:34 p.m Singapore time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 243.05 points, or 1.36 per cent, at 18,131.33. All 30 Dow components were higher.
The S&P 500 was up 28.53 points, or 1.37 per cent, at 2,113.71. Only four of the benchmark's components were in the red.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 77.15 points, or 1.53 per cent, at 5,123.52.
Investors have tended to see Clinton as a more status quo candidate and expect her victory to clear the path for a U.S. interest rate hike next month. On the other hand, Trump's stance on foreign policy, trade and immigration has unnerved the market.
All of the 11 major S&P 500 indexes were higher, with the technology index leading the pack with a 1.6 per cent rise. The defensive utilities sector brought up the rear with a 0.26 per cent gain.
