The US markets ended lower on Monday as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the U.S. elections, as Vice President Kamala Harris faces off against former President Donald Trump. Traders were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision, which is due to be announced on Thursday. The Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, but traders will be looking to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of future rate cuts. The more notable move to the downside by the Dow came as Intel and Dow Inc. came under pressure following news they will removed from the blue chip index.
On the sectoral front, reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day. Airline stocks showed a substantial move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index tumbling by 2.5 percent. On the other hand, energy stocks turned in a strong performance, as the price of crude oil surged after OPEC+ decided to delay plans to increase output. Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index jumped by 1.7 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index climbed by 1.4 percent.
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 257.59 points or 0.61 percent to 41,794.6, Nasdaq dropped 59.93 points or 0.33 percent to 18,179.98 and S&P 500 was down by 16.11 points or 0.28 percent to 5,712.69.