By Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) – Wall Street futures rose slightly on Monday as traders braced for an action-packed week in which Americans will elect a new president and the Federal Reserve is likely to cut its benchmark rate.

A new poll showed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris leading in Iowa ahead of Tuesday’s vote, even as growing bets on a victory for Republican nominee Donald Trump in recent weeks boosted yields in bonds, the dollar and bitcoin.

Stocks seen as bets on the former president’s chances of victory fell in premarket trading, while a drop in the 10-year Treasury yield on the recent issue eased pressure on the broader market.

Trump Media & Technology Group fell 7.2 percent and software developer Phunware, which made apps for the Trump 2020 campaign, fell 9.6 percent.

Betting site PredictIT showed Harris ahead of Trump as bets on her were 55 cents to 53 cents for the former US president, compared with 42 cents to 61 cents a week ago. This is what investors are willing to bet for a chance to win $1.

The Dow E-mini was up 25 points or 0.06%, the S&P 500 E-mini was up 10 points or 0.17% and the Nasdaq 100 E-mini was up 20 points or 0.1%.

The winner of the presidential race may not be known for several days after voting closes on Tuesday and could lead to choppy trading as investors wait for clarity on the political implications.

The CBOE VIX measure of expected stock volatility is trading at 22.38, well above its 30-day moving average of 19.44. However, it is still well below the 31.8 to 41 range it was trading in the week before the 2020 election.

“We are quite close to the historical top of the market … these lead me to believe that the upside, regardless of the outcome (of the election), will be quite limited,” said Sebastiano Chiodino, head of liability-based investing at Generali Asset. management.

Meanwhile, investors remained largely confident of a 25 basis point rate cut by the Fed at its November meeting, whose decision is expected on Thursday.

A much lower-than-expected October nonfarm payrolls number on Friday did little to change bets on the size of the rate cut.

Wall Street closed Friday but all three major indexes fell for the week as a mixed set of gains from tech megacaps led to losses at some of Wall Street’s biggest companies.

Nvidia rose 2.1 percent after S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Friday that the company will replace Intel in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Intel shares fell 1.8%.

Hotel operator Marriott International lost 3.6 percent after it cut its profit forecast for 2024 due to weak domestic travel demand from the U.S. and China.

Constellation Energy fell 9.1% after missing estimates for operating income.

About 102 S&P 500 companies are expected to report quarterly earnings in the coming week. Investors are also looking ahead to September US factory orders, due at 10:00 a.m. ET.

(Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)