AlHijjah 5, 1435, Sep 29, 2014, SPA -- U.S. stocks closed lower Monday, as the Hong Kong protests weighed on global markets. In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported a 1 percent decline in pending home sales for August. The Commerce Department reported that personal income rose 0.3 percent last month, as expected. In international economic news, protestors filled the streets in Hong Kong demanding that city officials step down and calling for democracy. In corporate news, Apple edged lower on news that the European Commission is expected to heavily fine the tech firm for allegedly taking advantage of illegal tax deals with the Irish government for more than 20 years. Facebook gained on news that banks may request access to their clients' accounts on the social media site and use the stability of the friend networks to determine credit risk. Bank of America edged lower on news that the bank had agreed to pay $7.65 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for securities law violations that resulted in an overestimate that eventually reached billions of dollars. The dollar gained against currencies of major U.S. trading partners. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery added $1.03 to $94.57 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures climbed $3.40 to $1,218.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 41.93, or 0.25 percent, to 17,071.22. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 5.05, or 0.25 percent, to 1,977.80. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 6.34, or 0.14 percent, to 4,505.85.
