NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks reversed course suddenly on Tuesday and drifted lower as chatter on the Internet speculated that early exit polls had Sen. John Kerry leading the presidential election in key swing states.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 42 points, or 0.42 percent, at 10,012. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2 points, or 0.20 percent, at 1,128. And the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.69 of a point, or 0.03 percent, at 1,979.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 had been higher for most of the session, heading for a sixth straight day of gains, but turned south sharply just after 2:30 p.m. EDT on the exit poll speculation.
"What we are hearing is that there is some feedback coming back from Ohio, that there could be a closer outcome out there or John Kerry could even potentially win that state," said Evan Olsen, head of equity trading at Stephens Inc.
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