Wall Street closes lower with oil price decline

NEW YORK

Falling oil prices helped push American markets to a lower close Monday.

The Dow Jones fell 78 points to end the day at 18,493. The S&P 500 was down six points to 2,168 and the Nasdaq was flat – losing two points to 5,096.

Oversupply and low global demand continued to create a bearish sentiment in the global crude market.

At the final bell, the American benchmark lost 2.6 percent to $43.06 a barrel and the international benchmark was lower by 2.2 percent to $45.05.

The market now anticipated the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision Wednesday after its two-day July meeting.

Although analysts do not expect the bank to make a move, it may signal a rate hike in September or December.