US Stocks Dip As Election Anxiety Churns

NEW YORK, , (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 02nd Nov, 2016 ) - Wall Street stocks opened lower Wednesday ahead of a monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve as a nxiety over the US presidential election continued to churn.

The rising possibility of a White House victory by Republican Donald Trump sent markets around the world tumbling as polls showed he has chipped away at rival Hillary Clinton's lead. Clinton is generally preferred by markets over Trump, who is viewed as a wildcard, in part because of his harsh criticism of Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen and international trade pacts.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,981.63, down 0.3 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.3 percent to 2,105.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.2 percent at 5,140.97.

The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates low, but the US central bank may use the occasion to put the public on notice to expect a rate hike in December -- though that is far from guaranteed.