Stocks close lower as earnings take center stage

U.S. stocks kicked off the new week in the red as investors await a big week of earnings reports and eye the final presidential debate and outlook for interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 52 points, or 0.3%, to 18,086. The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index was off 0.3% to 2126 and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3% to 5,200.

More than 80 companies in the S&P 500 are set to report earnings this week, according to Thomson Reuters. So far, 34 companies have reported third-quarter results and 62% have topped forecasts, just above the long-term "beat" average of 59%.

"This week the focus is on third-quarter earnings," says Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Asset Management Group. Wall Street, he adds, will also focus on interest rate policy and the Federal Reserve, as six Fed members are slated to speak this week, so investors will be looking for clues as to whether an interest rate is coming this year, most likely at the Fed's December meeting.

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Bank of America continued last week's trend of banks posting results that beat expectations. The bank topped earnings per share forecasts by 7 cents. Shares of Bank of America (BAC) were up 0.3% to $16.05. Last week, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all topped forecasts. Goldman Sachs, another key financial stock, reports its earnings Tuesday.

In economic news, the September reading on industrial production rose 0.1%, a tad below the 0.2% expected. Later this week, investors will get fresh data on inflation at the consumer level, existing home sales and how the economy is faring in the Philadelphia region.

"This week starts off with a certain degree of trepidation, ahead of a heavy slate of U.S. economic data, more in the way of third-quarter earnings results, and tons of Fedspeak," David Rosenberg, chief strategist at Gluskin Sheff noted in a report.

Wall Street will also be eyeing final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Foreign stock markets were mostly in the red. The broad Stoxx Europe 600 index was off 0.7% and stocks were also lower in London, Paris and Germany. In Asia, only Japan's Nikkei 225 was higher, closing up 0.3%. Stocks closed lower in Hong Kong, and mainland China by 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.