US stocks edge higher as investors head towards election day and await fresh inflation data

Stocks after breaking weekly win streaks will have the midterm elections and October inflation data to work with this week.

• US stocks rose Monday following losses in the previous week. 
• This week will feature midterm elections in Congress and the October inflation report. 
• Apple was in focus as COVID restrictions in China hamper production.

US stocks moved slightly higher Monday, entering the new trading week with midterm elections a day away and inflation figures on tap that will shape the path of the Federal Reserve's rate policy in its final meeting in December. 

Wall Street's major indexes were looking to build on sharp gains made on Friday following the hotter-than-expected October jobs report, but those indexes also snapped weekly win streaks. 

Apple was in focus, losing ground early after the company said COVID restrictions in China were slowing the production of its iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Monday: 

•  S&P 500: 3,775.67, up 0.14% 

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,490.54, up 0.27% (87.32 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 10,468.92, up 0.01%

Investors this week will be closely monitoring the Congressional midterm elections on Tuesday and the October consumer price inflation report on Thursday.

The "midterm election results should offer investors at least a temporary diversion from interest rate worries. Also, the projected decline in year-over-year CPI growth to 7.9% from 8.2% in September, and the 9.1% peak in June, may allow investors to breathe a sigh of relief and resume the October rally. In other words, if the CPI should drop, stocks may pop," Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, wrote in a note. 

Stovall and other market analysts told Insider that the S&P 500 looks to be in a position to log gains in the 12 months after the mid-terms, which it has done since World War II. 

Here's what else is happening today:

• Nobel laureate Paul Krugman says 'true' US inflation may have cooled to below 4%. 
• 'Dr. Doom' Nouriel Roubini warns the S&P 500 could plunge another 30% as the US economy faces a long recession. 
• China's stocks could rise 20% once the country fully reopens after zero-COVID curbs but that won't come for months, says Goldman Sachs. 

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude lost 0.8% to $91.92 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.6% to $97.98.  
• Gold picked up 0.2% to $1,679.70 per ounce. 
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose 4 basis points to 4.16%. 
• Bitcoin fell 2% to $20,713.04.