NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were flat to slightly lower on Tuesday as nervous investors continued to monitor the run-up to the 2016 election and wait for news from the Federal Reserve, which concludes a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 24 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,117 as of 11:20 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,121 and the Nasdaq composite declined 8 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,180.
U.S. IN FOCUS: Increasingly, investors' focus has been the presidential election, as polls between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump appear to have tightened following last week's news that the FBI had opened a new investigation into Clinton's private email server. The narrowing in the race has introduced a new element of uncertainty into the market, something that analysts say is likely to keep trading in check.
STOP THE PRESSES: Shares of newspaper company Tronc, which publishes the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, plunged $2.38, or 20 percent, to $9.65 after Gannett said it would stop its bid to buy the company. Gannett rose 12 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $7.88.
MADE IN AMERICA: U.S. manufacturing grew last month at the fastest pace since July, a sign that American factories are coping with economic weakness overseas and a strong dollar. The Institute for Supply Management says its manufacturing index came in at 51.9 up from 51.5 in August. Anything above 50 signals growth. Production and export orders grew faster in October.
FED WATCH: The Federal Reserve started its two-day meeting on Tuesday, where it is widely expected the nation's central bank will keep interest rates stable.
CATCH A COLD: Drugmaker Pfizer fell 13 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $31.57 after the company reported third-quarter profits plunged 38 percent, despite higher sales. The mediocre results missed Wall Street expectations and Pfizer lowered the top end of its 2016 profit forecast.
ENERGY: U.S. benchmark oil futures rose 17 cents to $47.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 15 cents to $48.76 a barrel.
BONDS, CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.86 percent from 1.83 percent. In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.1026 from $1.0969 and the dollar fell to 104.78 yen from 104.90 yen.