US benchmark equity indexes are on track to close lower Monday in anticipation of the presidential election and the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision coming later in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.6% at 41,810.8, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both decreased by 0.2%, landing at 5,716.4 and 18,203.9, respectively.

Among various sectors, utilities witnessed the most significant drop, whereas energy stocks led the gainers. The US presidential election is set for Tuesday, and the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee will commence its two-day meeting on Wednesday, culminating in an expected announcement on interest rates by Thursday. Market expectations are heavily leaning toward policymakers reducing the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, as suggested by the CME FedWatch tool. In the bond market, the US 10-year yield fell by six basis points to 4.30%, while the two-year rate dipped 2.9 basis points to 4.17%. Additionally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices climbed 3.1% to $71.61 per barrel..