US benchmark equity indexes were set to close lower on Monday as investors prepared for the presidential election and the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy decision, which is due later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to 41,810.8. Meanwhile, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped by 0.2%, settling at 5,716.4 and 18,203.9 respectively.
Sectors varied, with utilities taking the largest hit and energy leading the pack of gainers. With the presidential election occurring on Tuesday and the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting beginning Wednesday, all eyes are on the anticipated decision regarding interest rates, expected to be announced on Thursday.
Market analysts are largely predicting a reduction of the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, as indicated by the CME FedWatch tool. Furthermore, the US 10-year yield decreased by six basis points to 4.30%, while the two-year rate dropped 2.9 basis points to 4.17%. Notably, West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 3.1%, reaching $71.61 a barrel..