In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite, and the S&P 500 were all down on the day as investors awaited word on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again this month as expected.

The Dow lost 0.2 percent to close at 10,536.93, the Nasdaq fell 0.6 percent to 2,164.39, and the S&P declined by 0.3 percent to end the day at 1,223.13.

Several reports and rumors of bids and mergers also captured the attention of investors.

Kerr-McGee, the oil and gas company, gained 3.7 percent to $85.01 on the news that it had agreed to let Moller-Maersk purchase its oil interests in the North Sea for $3.5 billion.

E*Trade announced it would buy the online brokerage operations of Harrisdirect, sending shares in E*Trade up 8.3 percent to $16.10. The purchase will cost E*Trade $700 million.

Whirlpool upped its bid for Maytag by $2 to $20 per share. Maytag was up 9.4 percent to $18.58 on the news, and Whirlpool gained 3.5 percent to $82.40.

Department store group Saks saw its shares go up on a report in Women’s Wear Daily that Bon-Ton Stores and Cerberus Capital Management might spend up to $4.2 billion to purchase Saks. Shares in Saks gained 9.1 percent to $22.10 on the strength of the report.