STORY: U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday with the Dow dropping for a ninth straight session as investors showed caution ahead of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting of the year.
The Dow shed six-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 lost four-tenths and the Nasdaq dipped about three-tenths of a percent.
Markets are pricing in a quarter-point interest rate cut from the U.S. central bank at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
Investors will also be looking for any signs from Chair Jerome Powell on how aggressive the Fed will be in cutting rates in 2025.
Jimmy Lee is CEO of The Wealth Consulting Group.
“I think the Fed’s (Federal Reserve) going to cut. Obviously, that’s where the market is right now, that they’re going to cut tomorrow. But, you know, I think it’s a coin flip on a pause in January. And I think again, as I’ve been saying this whole time, (Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome) Powell has been saying how data dependent they are, it’ll really depend on the reports that come out between now and a decision to make in January. So, but tomorrow I’m fairly certain that the Fed will cut. If they didn’t, it’d be a huge surprise to the marketplace. And I think that a lot of investors would potentially use that as an opportunity to create some selling and some opportunities for volatility.”
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in November, consistent with the economy’s strong underlying momentum.
Stocks on the move Tuesday included Tesla, up more than 3.5% after at least two brokerages hiked their price targets on the stock this week.
Pfizer jumped more than 4.5% after the drugmaker forecast 2025 profit roughly in line with Wall Street expectations.
And it was another record day for bitcoin, which briefly crossed $108,000 for the first time.
