Stocks edge lower as markets remain cautious, with gold prices at new highs

NEW YORK, (Reuters) -Global equity markets traded lower on Monday as investors hedged their positions amid rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over the U.S. presidential election, even as gold prices reach new highs. The Israeli military is continuing its attacks against Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, with hundreds of Beirut residents fleeing their homes late on Sunday as explosions rocked the Lebanese capital. Gold prices surged to a record high on Monday and were up 0.07% to $2,722.23 an ounce. All three main Wall Street indexes were trading lower, with defensive stocks, including real estate and healthcare stocks, among the leading drags on the benchmark S&P 500 index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.74% to 42,956.04, the S&P 500 fell 0.18% to 5,841.10 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16% to 18,459.62  The European shares index lost 0.66%, while MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.55%. Overnight in Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific…