U.S. stocks turn lower, Fed meeting eyed

U.S. stocks turned lower in the morning session on Tuesday, the first trading day in November, as investors eyed the U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 25.57 points, or 0.14 percent, to 18,116.85. The S&P 500 lost 5.01 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,121.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 10.12 points, or 0.20 percent, to 5,179.01.

The Federal Open Market Committee kicks off its two-day meeting on Tuesday. Investors are keeping a close eye on the central bank's November meeting for more clues on the timing of the next rate hike.

Analysts, however, widely hold that the Fed would keep interest rate unchanged in this meeting.

On the economic front, the seasonally adjusted Markit Final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 53.4 from the September's 51.5, slightly better than the earlier flash reading of 53.2.

The October purchasing managers' index registered 51.9 percent, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Monday.

In corporate news, Shares of Coach Inc. rallied nearly 5 percent around midday Tuesday after the U.S. luxury retailer posted quarterly earnings before the open bell.

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower after wavering between small gains and losses Monday, as Wall Street awaited the Fed's meeting. Enditem