US STOCKS-Wall Street closes lower as stimulus deadline nears without deal

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
(Updates prices to close, adds commentary)
By Sinéad Carew
NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes
closed lower on Monday as Washington lawmakers still appeared to
struggle to reach an agreement on coronavirus stimulus ahead of
a Tuesday deadline that would make a relief package possible
ahead of the the Nov. 3 elections.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that in order to push
through an agreement before the election, it would have to be
settled on by Tuesday. On top of this investors were also worried about rising
coronavirus cases in parts of the United States and about
whether U.S. President Donald Trump might end up contesting the
election results.
"The lack of news on stimulus is worrisome compounded by
worsening virus trends and uncertainty ahead of the elections,"
said Mona Mahajan, U.S. Investment Strategist, Allianz Global
Investors, New York.
Last week, the White House proposed a $1.8 trillion stimulus
package that Pelosi rejected because it fell short of her demand
for $2.2 trillion in aid.
"There's a decent case that regardless of who wins if
stimulus doesn't happen before the election it'll happen
afterward," said Mahajan but she added, "with (virus) cases
rising again stimulus will be important."
As Wisconsin battled one of the worst coronavirus surges in
the United States, a judge on Monday reinstated restrictions. In
New Mexico, the governor warned that the state's healthcare
resources might not be sufficient if cases keep rising at the
current pace. The number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States last
week rose 13% to more than 393,000, approaching levels last seen
during a summer peak, according to a Reuters analysis.

Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
398.68 points, or 1.39%, to 28,207.63, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
56.44 points, or 1.62%, to 3,427.37 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 190.49 points, or 1.63%, to 11,481.07.
Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX was rising for a sixth
straight session as election campaigns kicked into high gear.
Nearly 30 million Americans have cast early ballots,
shattering records as voters adjust to the coronavirus pandemic,
including in Florida, battleground state that on Monday opened
polls to early voting.
President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe
Biden will debate for a final time on Thursday.
The election is "weighing on investor sentiment a bit and
maybe there's incremental concern there will be a contested
election," according to Mahajan citing poll stabilization and
betting odds reflecting higher expectations for a Trump win.
The Dow Jones Transport Average .DJT reversed course late
in the afternoon after making gains earlier on Monday when the
U.S. Transportation Security Administration said it screened
more than 1 million airline passengers on Sunday for the first
time since mid-March. After the financial sector set a mixed tone for the start of
the third-quarter earnings season last week, investors will look
to results from about 91 S&P 500 companies this week.
These include numbers due after market close from
International Business Machines Corp IBM.N , which was trading
lower in the late afternoon session.
ConocoPhillips COP.N shares fell after it agreed to buy
U.S. shale oil producer Concho Resources Inc CXO.N for $9.7
billion as the energy sector continued to consolidate.