Stocks End Higher After Oil Price Drops By Megan Davies NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose for their fifth straight session on Monday, boosted by relief over a drop in crude oil prices. But worry over an uncertain outcome in the U.S. presidential election and a sharp drop in drug maker Merck & Co. (MRK.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) muted gains. Crude futures fell below $50 a barrel during the regular NYMEX session, hitting their lowest level in a month, on speculation that oil may cost as much as 10 percent less next year if U.S. Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, defeats President Bush in Tuesday's election. Record oil prices have hampered stocks for weeks as investors fret over the effect of high energy prices on profits. As crude fell on Monday, economically sensitive stocks like United Technologies Corp. (UTX.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) helped support the Dow. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.92 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 10,054.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched up 0.31 of a point, or 0.03 percent, to finish at 1,130.51. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index gained 4.88 points, or 0.25 percent, to end at 1,979.87. The blue-chip Dow and the broader S&P 500 scored their first five-day streak of gains since the last week of July. After the market closed, chipmaker National Semiconductor Corp.(NSM.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) cut its second-quarter revenue outlook, saying business was weaker than expected. Share trading was halted after the closing bell and there was no movement in the stock on the INET electronic brokerage when dealing resumed. It closed regular trading down 1 cent at $16.69 on the New York Stock Exchange. During the regular session, overall trading was active, with 1.4 billion shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the same as the 1.4 billion daily average for last year. About 1.5 billion shares were traded on Nasdaq, below the 1.69 billion daily average last year. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a ratio of about 6 to 5, and were roughly even on Nasdaq. "The market's waiting for an excuse to buy," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. Traders were keen to "have the election behind them" and would probably buy equities "almost regardless of the result," Metz said. "That's except if there is no result known by Wednesday morning and then, I think we'll have a dull downward-drifting market.     Continued ... Quelle "Stocks End Higher After Oil Price Drops" : reuters.com Main page for "Stocks End Higher After Oil Price Drops"