* Motorola, Exxon rise after quarterly results
* Initial claims fall unexpectedly
* Dow off 0.2 pct, S&P off 0.1 pct, Nasdaq off 0.3 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to midmorning)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, as 3M dragged industrial shares lower and investors shied away from big bets ahead of the Federal Reserve's expected monetary easing.
An unexpected drop in new claims for unemployment benefits boosted stocks early as did a weak dollar, but the inverse relationship between the greenback and stocks appeared to break down. Mixed earnings also added to the choppy action. For details, see [ID:nN28118907] and [ID:nLDE69R17T]
"The more the market goes up, the more apprehensive investors are to continue to add risk," said Alan Lancz, president at Alan B. Lancz & Associates Inc in Toledo, Ohio.
Lancz said that with the looming Fed statement and the U.S. elections next week, investors "may prune some risk and take some profits as the market has appreciated quite a bit over the past two months."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dipped 26.00 points, or 0.23 percent, to 11,100.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was off 1.02 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,181.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> eased 6.90 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,496.36.
Since the beginning of September, the S&P 500 is up almost 13 percent.
On the downside, 3M Co
On the upside, Motorola Inc
The Nasdaq fared worse than the other two indexes as
Research In Motion Ltd
Anticipation of a Fed move has been a driver of recent market action as investors speculated over the size and time frame of further stimulus. Equity investors have bet that more easing will invigorate an economic recovery and lift asset prices.
Most leading economists expected the Fed to buy between $80 billion and $100 billion in assets per month under a new program to bolster the struggling economy, a Reuters poll found. [ID:nNLLRLE6LL] (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)