Wall Street is holding its breath in light of the Clinton campaign's latest hiccup in the presidential race, although a Hillary Clinton win is still priced in, Art Cashin told CNBC on Monday.
Cashin, director of NYSE floor operations at UBS, told "Squawk on the Street" that he's noticed a pervasive "wait and see attitude" among traders and investors as they look for any patterns in the market that correlate with the race so far.
"I think what we're seeing is a sign of confusion," Cashin said. "There's a lot of chatter on the floor and in the Wall Street watering holes that you may see several more leaks."
The market is largely expecting a Clinton win, with Republicans maintaining control of the House and a coin toss as to who controls the Senate, according to Cashin.
The trading expert said the recent increase in merger and acquisition activity may reflect concerns about the influence of Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren should a majority of Congress fall under Democratic control.
"If you think about paranoia, it may be that people want to get it in, get it on the docket, hopefully get it done or close to done before a new administration comes in," he said.
The prospect of an interest rate hike, too, is spurring M&A activity, Cashin suggested. "If interest rates are going to start to tick up here, money is virtually for free. Now is the time to do a deal if you can," he said.
For now, politics comes first on Cashin's radar, with oil following closely behind as crude prices slip lower.
Either way, in his view, "this is going to be one heck of a race."