Stocks edge lower as investors await Fed decision
Stocks edged lower Tuesday as the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting kicked off.
The Federal Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting Tuesday, and investors widely expect policymakers to set in motion another increase to short-term interest rates. Investors and economists will also be watching Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whose comments during a Wednesday afternoon press conference, may offer a better picture of officials’ plans heading into 2019 and potential concerns over the economic impact of new import tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 69.84 points, or 0.26 percent, to 26,492.21 during the latest session. The S&P 500 ticked 3.81 points lower, about 0.1 percent, to 2,915.56. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 14.22 points, or 0.18 percent, to 8,007.47.
Traders examined reports on home prices and consumer confidence, which is near an 18-year high. The market also awaited earnings reports from Nike and KB Home.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43870.35 | +461.88 | +1.06% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5948.71 | +31.60 | +0.53% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18972.420086 | +6.28 | +0.03% |
In corporate news, Dunkin' Brands shares rose more than 1 percent after the company said it would drop the word "Donuts" from its namesake chain.
Stocks closed in negative territory Monday after the White House said President Trump would meet Rod Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, on Thursday, dialing back earlier reports that an immediate firing was possible.
The Trump administration on Monday placed tariffs of 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese products, with the tariffs set to go up to 25 percent by the end of 2018. Beijing's new levies, which also went into effect Monday, will be 5-10 percent.
China’s Shanghai Composite returned to trading following a holiday and traded down 0.76 percent.
Hong Kong remained closed.
Japan's Nikkei ended the day up 0.29 percent.
In Europe, London’s FTSE gained 0.4 percent, Germany’s DAX was 0.4 percent higher and France’s CAC was up 0.4 percent.
FOX Business' Leia Klingel and Matthew Rocco contributed to this article.