With investors focused on election, stocks remain in check
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were flat to slightly lower on Tuesday as nervous investors continued to monitor the run-up to the 2016 election and wait for news from the Federal Reserve, which concludes a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
Increasingly, investors' focus has been the presidential election, as polls between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump appear to have tightened following last week's news that the FBI had opened a new investigation into Clinton's private email server.
The Institute for Supply Management says its manufacturing index came in at 51.9 up from 51.5 in August.
The Federal Reserve started its two-day meeting on Tuesday, where it is widely expected the nation's central bank will keep interest rates stable.
The mediocre results missed Wall Street expectations and Pfizer lowered the top end of its 2016 profit forecast.