US open: Stocks higher as oil prices fall, traders look ahead to midterms. Major indices were firmly in the green early on Monday, with falling oil prices boosting sentiment as investors preparing for a packed few days of earnings, macro data and Tuesday's midterm elections. As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.24% to 52,409.90, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.07% to 7,660.80 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 1.32% firmer at 25,773.93. The Dow opened 639.59 points higher on Monday, more than reversing losses recorded in the previous session after a dramatic tech sell-off weighed heavily on market sentiment. Oil prices were in focus early on Monday, with Brent crude falling 6.77% to $105.75 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 6.87% to $96.97 a barrel, as oil prices unwound earlier gains amid renewed hopes of de-escalation between Washington and Tehran. Prices had initially pushed higher after comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Donald Trump "hasn't made a decision" on military action against Iran and that the administration would prefer to resolve tensions "peacefully". Iranian state media also reported that its foreign minister said an agreement was possible if the US "demonstrates goodwill", helping ease fears of further disruption to global supply. Traders were also looking ahead to tomorrow's midterm elections, with polling indicating a sharp swing towards the Democrats as Donald Trump's approval rating hitting its lowest level for any sitting president heading into a midterm since Harry Truman. Democrats have been projected to win by a wide margin and could potentially flip the Senate and secure a sizeable majority in Congress, which would materially strengthen oversight of Trump-era policies ranging from immigration enforcement and trade disputes to federal workforce cuts and the Iran conflict. In the corporate space, Estée Lauder posted a stronger-than-expected first quarter performance ahead of the open on Monday, with earnings per share coming in at $0.72, comfortably ahead of the $0.51 forecast by analysts. Revenues of $3.72bn also topped consensus estimates of $3.64bn, as the beauty group continued to benefit from improving demand across key markets. Elsewhere, Loews delivered a third-quarter earnings beat, despite lower year-on-year profits, with the firm reporting adjusted EPS of $1.50, down from $2.43 a year earlier, on $4.76bn of revenue, slightly higher than the $4.67bn posted twelve months ago. Net income attributable to Loews fell to $306m from $504m, with the decline driven by a $125m after-tax charge at CNA Financial linked to long-term care reserve updates, alongside higher catastrophe losses and softer property and casualty underwriting. Still to come, Apple and Palantir were both slated to report quarterly earnings figures after the close. On the macro front, US manufacturing expanded again in October, with both the S&P Global and ISM surveys pointing to continued growth across the sector, though with differing signals on momentum, inflation and business sentiment. The S&P Global US manufacturing PMI eased to 54.9 from September's 55.9, still marking a fifteenth straight month of expansion but indicating a slight softening in growth. The ISM manufacturing PMI painted a firmer picture, rising to 55.5 from 54.5 and remaining comfortably above the 50 threshold. Four of the five key sub-indices strengthened, with new orders edging up to 55.5 and production jumping to 59.0. Employment growth slowed slightly to 52.4, while the prices index fell to 75.2, though still indicating elevated cost pressures. On another note, construction spending slipped 1.9% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of $2.186trn in September, marking the steepest drop since April 2020, following August's upwardly revised 2% advance and falling well and truly short of the 0.4% increase expected by econoomists. According to the Census Bureau, total private construction shrank by 2.4%, led by a 5.5% decline in residential activity, while non-residential spending rose by 1.1%. Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com Dow Jones - Risers Dow Jones - Fallers S&P 500 - Risers S&P 500 - Fallers Nasdaq 100 - Risers Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Loews earnings fall 39% as CNA reserve charge weighs. Reading Time: 3 mins read ( The FINANCIAL) - Loews earnings fell 39% in the third quarter as insurance reserve changes and weaker underwriting outweighed improvement at its hotels business. The November 2 results put the timing of expected investment gains, operating cash generation and the holding company's capital allocation in focus. Loews (NYSE: L) reported net income of $306 million, or $1.50 a share, against $504 million, or $2.43, a year earlier. Shares traded at $110.85 at 12:48 p.m. EST on November 2, down $0.47, or 0.42%. That is an intraday, provider-labelled real-time snapshot, not a closing price. Research is dated November 2, 2026. CNA Financial (NYSE: CNA) was the largest source of pressure. Its contribution to Loews fell to $180 million from $371 million. Annual long-term-care reserve assumption updates reduced Loews' earnings by $125 million after tax and noncontrolling interests. Management expects higher investment yields from portfolio changes to almost entirely offset that charge over time. Those anticipated future earnings have not reversed the current charge. CNA's separate results announcement showed its property-and-casualty combined ratio worsening to 97.0% from 92.8%. Catastrophes accounted for 2.8 percentage points, against 1.5 points previously. A higher combined ratio means claims and expenses consume more premium revenue, leaving less underwriting profit before investment income. That pressure has also appeared elsewhere in insurance. The FINANCIAL previously reported narrower underwriting margins at Old Republic International (NYSE: ORI). Different product mixes and claims experience limit direct comparisons; the shared issue is whether premium growth keeps pace with the cost of insured losses. Boardwalk Pipelines contributed $85 million, down from $94 million, while Loews Hotels earned $16 million against a $3 million loss. These figures show diversification cushioning the insurance decline without fully absorbing it. For the holding company, stronger individual subsidiaries matter most when their earnings can support distributions or profitable reinvestment. Cash generation weakened. The quarterly filing reproduced by Stock Titan records nine-month operating cash flow of $1.992 billion versus $2.662 billion. Parent cash and investments, net of related receivables and payables, nevertheless rose to $4.4 billion from $3.9 billion at year-end. The parent received $855 million from CNA, including a $497 million special dividend, and $225 million from Boardwalk. Parent debt stood at $1.8 billion. Those parent balances should be evaluated separately from consolidated subsidiary obligations. The filing says Loews depends on subsidiary distributions and investment returns to fund its obligations, while providing no parent guarantees of subsidiary liabilities. Shares outstanding declined to 202.9 million from 206.0 million at year-end. Repurchases reduce the denominator used to calculate per-share results, but cannot compensate indefinitely for weaker business earnings. Their value also depends on the price paid relative to the assets and future profits acquired. At the reference quote, dividing $110.85 by reported book value of $90.24 gives approximately 1.23 times book. Using the company's non-GAAP book value excluding accumulated other comprehensive income, $100.67, gives 1.10 times. These are different valuation bases, not interchangeable measures of cheapness. Stock Analysis lists year-end price-to-book ratios of 1.11 in 2025 and 1.03 in 2024. It displays 1.55 for Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) on November 2. Berkshire offers a broad diversified-insurer comparison, although differences in operating assets, insurance liabilities and accounting prevent treating its multiple as a Loews target. Editorial assessment. The investment case hinges on three developments: CNA's underwriting margins, realization of the expected investment-income benefit, and subsidiary cash distributions. Better hotel performance and parent liquidity provide support. Further reserve increases or persistently weaker operating cash flow would undermine the case for a higher valuation. Confidence in the earnings recovery remains limited until those operating trends improve. Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not personalized investment advice. Share prices can fall, and investors may lose capital. Support Independent Journalism Help The FINANCIAL continue delivering quality business and financial news.Support from as little as $1. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you