Stocks Edge Lower Amid Fed Taper Talk -- U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - U.S. stocks turned lower on Monday, as a trio of better-than-expected U.S. economic reports raised speculation the Federal Reserve will soon tighten monetary policy.

After struggling to extend last week's modest gains during the first half hour of trading, stocks were pressure by data showing a resilient U.S. manufacturing sector.

The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index rose to 57.3% in November from 56.4%, its highest reading since April 2011.

Meanwhile, construction spending rose more than expected in October, according to the Commerce Department

The major stock indices were all at their lowest levels of the day shortly before the closing bell on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 77.70 points, or 0.5% to 16,008.71.

The S&P 500 index dropped 4.91 points, or 0.3%, to 1,800.90, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 14.63 points, or 0.4%, to 4,045.26.

Retailers were in focus on Cyber Monday, the most important online shopping day of the holiday season.

EBay (EBAY) and Amazon (AMZN) shares were little changed today.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart and other brick and mortar stores are hoping that online sales will make up for the slightly disappointing weekend sales numbers.

U.S. shoppers were out in droves on Black Friday but were reluctant to open their wallets despite deep discounts.

Consumers spent $407.02 on average on the Thanksgiving weekend, a 3.9 percent decline from $423.55 last year, according to figures from the National Retail Federation.

Total spending is estimated to reach $57.4 billion, down from $59.1 billion in 2012.

3M Company (MMM) fell more than 4% as Morgan Stanley cut their rating on the stock to underweight.