Dow Heads for 9th Straight Loss. Stock Futures Fall as Fed Meeting Kicks Off.
U.S. stocks were on course to fall on Tuesday, as investors focused on the Federal Reserve’s final meeting of 2024.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 171 points, or 0.4%. The blue-chip index is riding its longest losing streak since 2018–it has fallen eight days in a row. Contracts tied to the Nasdaq 100 slid 0.3%, after the tech-heavy gauge hit a record high Monday, and S&P 500 futures were also down 0.3%.
The Fed’s December meeting is set to kick off today and conclude tomorrow, with the central bank widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter of a basis point. The market will likely focus on Chair Jerome Powell’s comments, which could signal where borrowing costs are headed next year.