US Stocks were little changed on Monday and indexes traded in a narrow range as the nation prepared for presidential elections.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 5.18 points, (-0.06%), to finish at 9,319.83. The S&P 500 fell 2.45 points (-0.25%) to 966.30. The Nasdaq Composite rose 5.38 points (+0.31%) to 1,726.33.

Volume was quite low on exchanges as traders refrained from taking bigger bets before election. Volume on the NYSE Exchange was 1.02 billion shares against previous year's average volume of 1.90 billion. At Nasdaq, volume was 1.81 billion shares against previous year's average of 2.17.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) lost 14 cents or 2.42% to $5.65 after the automaker announced sales of cars and light trucks plunged 45% in October. Ford (NYSE:F) registered a 30% decline in car sales. Shares of Ford were down 2.74% on Monday.

Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) retreated $1.37 or 5.81% to settle at $22.22.

Shares of Dow component Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) plunged 87 cents or 3.36% to finish at $25.04 after Merrill Lynch lowered its share-price estimate by 11% to $24.

Energy Shares declined as Crude Oil plunged. Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) subtracted 91 cents or 1.22% to finish at $73.69. Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) slipped $1.43 or 7.23% to settle at $18.36.

Shares of Telecom companies advanced on Monday. Verizon Communication (NYSE:VZ) climbed $1.08 or 3.64% to $30.75. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) rose $1.04 or 3.88% to settle at $27.81
 
A release by Institute for Supply Management on Monday showed manufacturing activity dropped to 38.9 in October, lowest level since September 1982. This was the second straight drop in the reading. Earlier in September, the index had dropped to 43.5. Economists had forecast a drop of 42 in October. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in manufacturing activity.

A separate release by Department of Commerce showed construction spending in US fell 0.3% in September, less than the 0.8% drop anticipated by Wall Street. Construction spending is down 6.6% from a year ago. In August, spending was up by 0.3%.  Private residential construction fell 1.3% from August while private construction was marginally up by 0.1%.

Meanwhile, private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has decided to delay public listing until next year. In a statement KKR Private Equity Investors said "Sources of liquidity may be not only more difficult, but also impossible to obtain in the current market environment."

In a statement on Monday, Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker said "I think it's definitely a recession at this point. How deep, how steep, and long it's going to be is uncertain." He added further "Shifts in expectations regarding official intervention may have added volatility to financial-asset markets that were already roiled by an increasingly uncertain growth outlook."

Money market rates fell for the 16th straight day. According to the British Bankers' Association, the London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, declined 17 basis points to 2.86%. The overnight rate dropped 2 basis points to 0.39%. The Libor-OIS spread narrowed 16 basis points to 223 basis points.

European stocks finished higher on Wednesday. U.K. FTSE rose 65.94 points or 1.51% to 4,443.28. The German DAX climbed 0.78% while French CAC advanced 1.17%.

Earlier, Asian stocks surged up on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 375.7 points or 2.69% to 14,344.37. Straits Index jumped 89.55 points or 4.99% to 1,883.75.

NYMEX Crude Oil for December delivery fell $3.90, or 5.8%, to settle at $63.91 a barrel.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.