US stocks turn lower, Fed meeting eyed

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

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 25.57 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 18,116.85, Xinhua news agency reported.

The S&P 500 lost 5.01 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 2,121.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 10.12 points, or 0.20 per cent, 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 US 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 per cent, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Monday.

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

--IANS

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