Stocks push higher on Election Day

Major gauges struggle to rise as investors mull the vote along with falling bond yields and mixed earnings news.

November 7 2006: 10:01 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street started off Election Day on a quiet note as investors scooped up select shares after the previous session's big rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 19.93 to 12,125.48, Charts), the broader S&P 500 (up 0.93 to 1,380.71, Charts) index and the tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (up 4.29 to 2,370.24, Charts) all added a few points in the early going.

Stocks snapped back Monday after a one-week selloff as investors welcomed a quartet of corporate deals and geared up for Tuesday's congressional elections.

Polls released this week suggest that the Democratic Party is likely to take control of the House of Representatives from the Republicans, while the Republicans are likely to hang on to the Senate.

Such a scenario has been anticipated by market participants already, analysts say, and would not likely impact investors much. Should either party end up with both chambers of Congress, stocks would likely have a bigger reaction over the next few days.

Investors also reacted to a decline in Treasury bond yields, a mostly flat oil market and the latest batch of quarterly earnings reports.

Among the standouts, a number of homebuilders reported disappointing results, amid the impact of the slowdown in the overall housing market.

Toll Brothers warned that homebuilding revenue in its recently completed fiscal fourth quarter would fall more than expected and also said that a recovery for the sector is not yet in sight. Toll Brothers (down $0.25 to $27.80, Charts) stock fell 1 percent in the morning.

Late Monday, Altera (up $0.63 to $19.07, Charts) reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that rose from a year ago and topped forecasts. The chipmaker also forecast that fourth-quarter sales would fall from the third quarter. However, investors focused on the strong earnings and sent shares higher Tuesday morning.

U.S. light crude oil for December delivery gained 2 cents to $60.04 a barrel in electronic trading.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.65 percent from 4.70 late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

COMEX gold rose $1.90 to $629.80 an ounce.