Stocks Ended Slightly Lower as Brexit Vote Approached

U.S. stocks finished slightly lower on Wednesday, as polls showed the outcome of a U.K. referendum on whether to leave the European Union remained too close to call a day ahead of the vote. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48.90 points, or 0.27%, to 17,780.83. The S&P 500 shed 3.45 points, or 0.17%, to 2,085.45. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 10.44 points, or 0.22%, to 4,833.32.

An online survey by Opinium showed 45% of respondents are in favor of ditching the EU while 44% prefer to stay. Nine percent of voters were undecided.

Federal Reserve Governor Jay Powell told CNBC on Wednesday the referendum on whether the U.K. should leave the European Union may make for dicey trading in financial markets.

Oil prices settled down more than 1 percent on Wednesday. Brent’s front-month contract, August, settled down 74 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $49.88 a barrel. August WTI fell 72 cents, or 1.4 percent, to settle at $49.13.

Investors questioned a plan by Silicon Valley heavyweight Elon Musk for his electric car company Tesla Motors to buy his rooftop solar company SolarCity for up to $2.8 billion, sending Tesla’s shares down more than 10 percent on concerns the two would not fit together and a deal would distract Tesla from making cars.

S&P 500 companies, determined to keep their share prices on a good footing during the turbulent marketconditions at the start of the year, spent $161.4 billion on share buybacks in the first quarter of 2016.