U.S. stocks have closed on a mixed note in Election Day trading, as an early rally faded amid Internet reports of exit polls showing Senator John Kerry running strongly against President George W. Bush.
A rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average faded late in the session, and the blue-chip index fell 18.66 points or 0.19 percent to close at 10,035.73.
According to Wall Street insiders, a seeming panic emerged among traders after the Web-based Drudge Report reported on preliminary exit polls that apparently showed Kerry performing strongly among the electorate.
The insiders added that stocks are expected to rise in the event Bush wins the presidential election while they are projected to drop if Kerry becomes the next U.S. president.