NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged lower on Tuesday with traders' sights set again on Wednesday's Federal Reserve statement on the economy and a possible new round of stimulus.
Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 64.33 points, or 0.49 percent, to end unofficially at 13,008.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> shed 5.98 points, or 0.43 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,379.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> declined 6.32 points, or 0.21 percent, to close unofficially at 2,939.52.
For the month of July, all three major U.S. stock indexes ended with gains. The Dow industrials advanced 1 percent in July, while the S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq edged up 0.2 percent.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)
