Dow up more than 400 points as stocks extend gains into final hour of trading

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 439 points, or 1.4%, in Monday’s final hour of trading and heading for its second straight session of gains. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were also higher, by 1% and 0.9% respectively, as traders focused on the prospects that Republicans might take control of one or both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s mid-term elections. Reports suggesting Russia and Ukraine might be heading for eventual peace talks also helped boost investor sentiment on Monday, while investors looked ahead to October inflation data due out later this week.

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