Stocks closed lower Tuesday, with telecommunications lagging, as investors awaited the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting.

    The Fed is scheduled to release the minutes of its July meeting later Wednesday.The Dow Jones industrial average closed 84.03 points lower, or 0.45%, at 18,552.02, with Johnson & Johnson leading decliners and Intel leading laggards.

    The S&P 500 ended 12 points lower, or 0.55%, to trade at 2,178.15, with telecommunications leading nine sectors lower and energy the only advancer.The Nasdaq fell 34.90 points, or 0.66%, to close at 5,227.11. 

    Overseas, European stocks fell, with the Stoxx 600 index falling 0.79%. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.62%, while the Shanghai composite slipped 0.49%