us stocks opened lower on monday as traders took profits ahead of a meeting of the federal reserve where the central bank is expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points the sp 500 spx fell by 23 points or 06 to 4048 the nasdaq composite comp shed 103 points or 09 to 11518 the dow jones industrial average djia retreated by 75 points or 02 to 33903 stocks have risen sharply in january paring last year’s losses but investors are anxious to see whether fed chairman jerome powell will undermine the rally with hawkish commentary on wednesday like he did in august what’s more investors are gearing up for the busiest week of earnings season this quarter with 35 of sp 500 companies set to release quarterly results this week according to data from bank of america global research