Stocks Opened Lower ahead of Fed Meeting

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday, as investors kept their attention on a stream of corporate earnings and awaited the start of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting that’s expected to deliver another interest rate cut. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately shed 14.29 points, or 0.05%, to 27,076.43. The S&P 500 was down 2.23 points, or 0.07%, to 3,037.19. The Nasdaq Composite fell 22.85 points, or 0.27%, to 8,303.13.

Oil futures were under pressure Tuesday for a second day in a row, pressured by expectations for a rise in U.S. inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell 71 cents, or 1.3%, to $55.10 a barrel, while December Brent gave up 71 cents, or 1.2%, to trade at $60.86 a barrel.

General Motors Co. (GM) reported Tuesday that its third-quarter net profit fell 7% as a strike by the United Auto Workers union brought its U.S. factories to a standstill. GM made $2.35 billion, or $1.60 per share, but the strike cost it 52 cents per share of earnings. That forced the company to cut its full-year pretax profit guidance from $6.50 to $7 per share, to $4.50 to $4.80. Revenue fell 0.9% to $35.47 billion.