Stocks Ended Slightly Lower, Oil Prices Fell

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday, as investors kept their attention on a stream of corporate earnings and awaited the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting that’s expected to deliver another interest rate cut on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19.26 points, or 0.07%, to 27,071.46. The S&P 500 fell 2.53 points, or 0.08%, to 3,036.89. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 49.13 points, or 0.59%, to 8,276.85.

U.S. oil futures finished lower on Tuesday, as traders weighed forecasts for a weekly rise in domestic crude supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell 27 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $55.54 a barrel. December Brent edged up by 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $61.59 a barrel.

U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell to a four-month low as economic expectations dimmed. The Conference Board index, monitored by analysts as a signal of future consumer spending, dropped in October to 125.9 for a third-straight decline.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) reported in-line third-quarter earnings and said it expected about the same for the fourth quarter.The company reported third-quarter net income of $120 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with $102 million, or 9 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $1.8 billion from $1.65 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Mattel Inc (MAT) reported a surprise jump in quarterly revenue on Tuesday. Mattel’s total quarterly net sales rose 3% to $1.48 bln from a year earlier year, while analysts had expected a fall of 0.5%. Third-quarter profit rose to $70.6 million, or 20 cents per share, from $6.3 million, or 2 cents per share.