02:28 PM EST, 11/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were mostly lower after midday Monday ahead of the presidential election and the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy decision due later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5% at 41,835.8 intraday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 5,724. The Nasdaq Composite was little changed at 18,243.9. Among sectors, utilities saw the biggest drop, while energy paced the gainers.

The US presidential election is scheduled for Tuesday. The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is slated to begin its two-day meeting Wednesday, with a decision on interest rates expected Thursday.

Markets are widely expecting policymakers to lower their benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

"Given that the meeting will come on the heels of the election, there will likely be questions about its implications," Macquarie said in a Monday note to clients. "Should (Donald) Trump emerge as the victor, these would likely focus on the threatened tariffs, fiscal policy, and Fed independence."

The US 10-year yield was down 4.8 basis points at 4.32% intraday, while the two-year rate lost 2.2 basis points to 4.18%.

In company news, Talen Energy ( TLN ) shares were down 3.5%.

Intel ( INTC ) saw the second-steepest decline on the Nasdaq and the Dow, down 2.4%. Late Friday, S&P Global ( SPGI ) division S&P Dow Jones Indices said Nvidia ( NVDA ) will replace Intel ( INTC ) in the Dow, effective Nov. 8. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares were up 2.1% intraday Monday.

Salesforce ( CRM ) shares rose 1.7%, the best performer on the Dow, as Evercore ISI adjusted its price target on the stock to $400 from $300.

Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) , NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) , American International Group ( AIG ) and Illumina ( ILMN ) are among companies scheduled to report their latest quarterly financial results after Monday's closing bell.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 2.8% to $71.42 a barrel intraday. Prices rose following a decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to delay by a planned hike in production by a month, D.A. Davidson said in a note to clients.

Gold was down 0.1% at $2,747.30 per troy ounce, while silver lost 0.2% to $32.78 per ounce.