US stocks end lower, post monthly gains

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 0.74%, or 330 points, to 44,130, reducing its monthly rise to nearly 0.10%.

Similarly, the S&P 500 Index edged down about 0.37%, or 23 points, to 6,339 despite posting a monthly gain of 2.17%.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped around 7 points, to 21,122, maintaining a rise of 3.70% in July.

As for the European indices, the STOXX Europe 600 declined 0.75% to 546 points, but posted monthly gains of 0.90%.

Elsewhere, the DAX 40 finished at 24,065 points, easing 0.80%. The FTSE 100 was unchanged at 9,132 points, while the CAC 40 shed 1.15% to 7.771 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 1% to 41,069 points. TOPIX added 0.80% to 2,943 points.

On oil, Brent crude futures for September delivery — which expired today — fell by 0.97%, or 71 cents, to $72.53 a barrel, but recorded a monthly gain of 8.7%.

Meanwhile, US WTI crude futures for September delivery dropped by 1%, or 74 cents, to $69.26 a barrel, trimming their monthly gains to 8.5%.

As for gold, December futures — the most actively traded contract — slipped by 0.12%, or $4.20, to $3,348.60 per ounce, ending the month with a 0.42% loss.