Dow closes lower on Monday, but still posts best month since 1976

Stocks slipped on Monday, but the Dow capped off its best month since 1976 and all the major averages snapped a two-month losing streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 128.85 points, or 0.39%, to settle at 32,732.95. The S&P 500 shed 0.75% to finish at 3,871.98, while the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.03% to 10,988.15.

Markets made a huge comeback in October. The Dow guided those gains, soaring 13.95% for the month. The 30-stock finished its best month since 1976 as investors bet on more traditional companies, like banks, to lead the next bull. The S&P and Nasdaq gained about 8% and 3.9%, respectively, for October.

“Stocks are taking a breather after the big run last week,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at the Carson Group. “Then, considering the always important Fed meeting and interest rate decision on Wednesday, a pause makes even more sense. “

October’s gains have come despite a mixed third-quarter earnings season, which has shown slowing growth and major disappointments from large tech companies such as Meta Platforms and Amazon. Those names led Monday’s tech losses as investors drifted out of the growth sector.

Traders are preparing this week for the latest Federal Reserve meeting beginning Tuesday. The central bank is widely expected to hike interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday. Many on Wall Street are looking for a signal from the Federal Open Market Committee’s statement or Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference that the Fed could pause its hikes or reduce their size in the near future.

“Wednesday’s message will be crucial for market expectations going forward,” said LPL Financial’s Quincy Krosby. “With the question and answer segment for the presser, Chairman Powell will have to finesse his answers as if he were walking a monetary tightrope.”

Earnings season continues this week with reports from Uber, Pfizer and Advanced Micro Devices. Investors are also looking ahead to October jobs data due out Friday.