US Markets Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Open Lower Before Curtains On Record-Setting Month

US stocks opened lower on Monday in the last trading day of a month and a quarter that is set to close in green.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat but down 23 points, to 42,289, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.2% to 18,079.

The S&P 500 also declined 0.2% to 5,726. Eight of the eleven sectoral indices were trading in red, with energy and financials seeing declines while consumer discretionary and telecommunications led advances.

Among major companies, shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Boeing Co. and Ford Motor Co. declined 2%, while Apply Inc. and ConocoPhillips gained as much.

September has seen the benchmark US indices scale new highs, after the Federal Reserve delivered an outsized interest rate cut and macro data suggested a resilient US economy. The S&P 500 has risen 1.5% so far this month and 5% quarter to date, according to Bloomberg data.

The Dow Jones has climbed 1.4% on the month and 7.7% on the quarter. The Nasdaq Composite has added 2.3% during the month, bringing its quarterly gain to 2.2%.

The week heading into October has numerous job reports and comments from Fed policymakers through it, including Chair Jerome Powell.