Stocks edge lower as Wall Street prepares for earnings

By DAMIAN J. TROISE
AP Business Writer

Stocks edged lower in afternoon trading on Wall Street Monday as communications companies and banks broadly fell. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%. The Nasdaq fell 0.1%. The price of benchmark U.S. crude oil was up 1.5% to over $80 a barrel. Investors are looking ahead to the beginning of company earnings reports this week. JPMorgan Chase delivers its results on Wednesday and Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup will report on Thursday. The Labor Department will release inflation measures on Wednesday and Thursday. Bond trading was closed for the Columbus Day holiday.