U.S. market indexes were lower Monday. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18253.85 for a loss of -54.30 points, or -0.30%. The S&P 500 was also down, closing at 2161.20 for a loss of -7.07 points, or -0.33%. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 5300.87 for a loss of -11.13 points, or -0.21%. The VIX Volatility Index was lower for the day at 13.66 for a gain of 0.37 points, or 2.78%.
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, stocks leading losses included the following:
The Travelers Companies Inc. (TRV, Financial) -1.35%
Procter & Gamble (PG, Financial) -1.21%
UnitedHealth (UNH, Financial) -1.08%
Cisco (CSCO, Financial) -0.69%
Coca-Cola (KO, Financial) -0.69%
McDonald's (MCD, Financial) -0.62%
Pfizer (PFE, Financial) -0.56%
Leading reports on the economic calendar Monday included Motor Vehicle Sales, the Gallup U.S. Consumer Spending Measure, the PMI Manufacturing Index, the ISM Manufacturing Index and Construction Spending. Preliminary motor vehicle sales were reportedly at 13.8 million annualized for North America, meeting expectations and matching last month’s sales of $13.4 million. The Gallup U.S. Consumer Spending report showed consumer spending at $91 a day in September. The PMI Manufacturing Index was down for the month at 51.5 from 52 in August. The ISM Manufacturing Index increased to 51.5 from 49.4. Construction Spending was down -0.7% from the previous month. For the year, construction spending was lower by -0.3%, down from an annual increase of 1.5% in the previous report.
Stocks ended the day lower as construction spending missed expectations for the real estate sector. Election uncertainty was also a factor as investors began to consider fourth quarter earnings.
A CNBC report Monday discussed the election and its affects on trading in more detail.
Disclosure: I do not own any stocks included in this article.
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