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U.S. stocks edge down ahead of Fed meeting

Xinhua, November 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower after wavering between small gains and losses Monday, as Wall Street awaited the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.77 points, or 0.10 percent, to 18,142.42. The S&P 500 edged down 0.26 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,126.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 0.97 point, or 0.02 percent, to 5,189.13.

Investors kept a close eye on the Fed's policy meeting for more clues on the timing of the next rate hike. Analysts widely hold that the Fed would keep interest rate unchanged in this meeting.

On the economic front, U.S. personal income increased 46.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.3 percent, in September, missing market consensus of a 0.4-percent gain, the Commerce Department said on Monday.

"The past six months have seen strong income and consumption growth, pushing the Q4/Q1 slump well into the past to improve the foundation for the US economy, where about two-thirds of growth is household purchases," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial.

In corporate news, shares of Honda Motor Co. inched up 0.03 percent to 29.83 dollars apiece Monday after the company raised its full-year forecast.

Meanwhile, the U.S. election was also in focus. FBI Director James Comey said in a Friday letter to lawmakers that the agency is probing new emails related to the Democratic nominee. The emails were discovered during a separate investigation involving former Congressman Anthony Weiner.

Clinton's lead over her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, has narrowed significantly since Friday's news broke, polls showed. Enditem