Oil Ends 1.8% Lower on Planned Sale of U.S. Reserves

Oil futures settled at a two-month low Tuesday after the U.S. government announced plans to sell millions of barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, as traders bet on a further weekly increase in crude supplies. December West Texas Intermediate crude fell 78 cents, or 1.8%, to settle at $43.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest settlement since Aug. 27. December Brent crude on London’s ICE...

Gold Little Changed as Traders Await Fed Decision on U.S. Rates

Gold traders are waiting on the sidelines ahead of a meeting of U.S. policy makers that could give clues on when interest rates will rise. Futures closed little change in New York, and aggregate trading was 35 percent below the 100-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. On Monday, about 93,000 contracts changed hands, the lowest in three weeks. Federal Reserve officials start a two-day meeting on Tuesday. Investors ...

U.S. Stocks Decline Before Fed Amid Earnings Reports, Economic Data

U.S. stocks declined amid mixed earnings reports and data that renewed concern on the strength of the global economy as the Federal Reserve began a two-day monetary policy meeting. A rally in equities has tapped the brakes as investors await the latest from the Fed. Policy makers kept interest rates near zero last month, opting to hold off for a better read on the impact of weaker growth in China and lackluster inflation. Central bankers...

Europe Stocks Fall for a Second Day as Earnings Miss, Oil Drops

European stocks fell for a second day as some disappointing earnings reports cast doubt on the strength of the euro-area economic recovery, amid weak commodity and oil prices. Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc slid at least 1.9 percent, contributing the most to a drop in energy stocks. Novartis AG pulled health-care shares down, falling 1.6 percent after reporting profit that missed estimates and agreeing to pay $390 million to settle...

U.S. Stocks Fluctuate Before Fed Amid Earnings, Economic Data

U.S. stocks fluctuated amid mixed earnings reports and data that renewed concern on the strength of the global economy as the Federal Reserve begins a two-day monetary policy meeting. A rally in equities has tapped the brakes as investors await the latest from the Fed. Policy makers kept interest rates near zero last month, opting to hold off for a better read on the impact of weaker growth in China and lackluster inflation. Central...