Stocks end lower, but Dow clinches best monthly performance since January 1976

Stocks ended the final day of the month on a down note Monday, but still saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average log one of its strongest monthly performances of all time and its biggest October gain on record as investors await the outcome of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting for clues to the size of future rate increases. The Dow
DJIA,
-0.39%
fell around 129 points, or 0.4%, to close near 32,733, but posted a monthly gain of 13.95%, its strongest since January 1976. The S&P 500
SPX,
-0.75%
fell around 29 points, or 0.7%, to close near 3,872, logging a monthly rise of 8%. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-1.03%
fell around 114 points, or 1%, ending near 10,988, leaving it up 3.9% in October.